Crossing Paths
by lexie2
Summary: Years after leaving SV for good,Lois and Clark are a married couple, Lex is running for the Senate and Chloe is investigating a LuthorCorp subsidiary.Lex and Chloe s paths will cross again,forcing both to reevaluate decisions they took a lifetime ago.
1. Playing House

Summary: Six years after leaving Smallville for good, Lex has expanded his empire and is now running for the Senate. Chloe is trying to balance her professional and her personal life as she investigates a LuthorCorp project which will touch many lives and have unsuspected ramifications. Their paths will cross again and make them question the choices made a lifetime ago.

Author: Lexie

Rating: PG-13/15

A/N: At the beginning of this fic Chloe and Lex will be paired with other people, but this is Chlex so you´ll just have to bear with me for a while.

Disclaimer: all Superman and Smallville characters belong to DC Comics and Gough & Millar. No infringement's intended.

**CROSSING PATHS**

**CHAPTER 1:** Playing House

Metropolis 2014

It was March and springtime had officially begun in the northern hemisphere. The trees in the parks of Metropolis were showing their first new leaves and the flowerbeds in the suburban areas had started blooming. In the city centre, where skyscrapers dominated the landscape, things were pretty much the same- without the winter snowflakes which were cute when adorning a Christmas card but a real nuisance when one was chasing a story in the middle of a snowstorm.

Chloe put on the indicator and turned right into Mulberry Lane to drive the two blocks which remained to get to her cousin´s. The blonde couldn´t help but smile when she thought of Lois and her efforts to play house. Her older cousin´s wedding to Clark- or rather, to her own personal knight in shining armour, the now ubiquitous Superman- had taken place a little over a year before, and the army brat had moved with her new husband to the outskirts of Metropolis. Chloe knew how much Lois hated the quiet, but it was what Clark´s provincial upbringing craved for, and Lois had willingly given in.

The Kents´ looked a lot like Martha´s home- gingham curtains in the kitchen included; however, the similarities between the two Mrs Kent stopped there. Despite efforts to the contrary, Lois had never been the homely type, as Chloe could verify when she arrived at the Kents´ for dinner on a Saturday evening.

¨Wow!¨exclaimed the blonde reporter when the door opened and she saw Lois emerge out of a cloud of smoke wielding a carving fork in one hand. ¨Should I have brought the fire brigade? You know, I think I still have the phone number of that take-out pizza restaurant somewhere in my purse, ¨she laughed.

¨Get in, Chloe before I vent my ire in the front yard and give that peeping Tom of a neighbour a show, ¨hissed General Lane´s daughter, slamming the door shut.

¨What´s with the reduced visibility? ¨chuckled Chloe as she followed her cousin across the living-room, paying attention not to step on the laundry waiting to be ironed or the women magazines lying scattered on the floor. _´No, my cuz is definitely no Martha Stewart or our own Martha Kent, ´_ mused Chloe while Lois opened the oven and took out a roasting tin with cinders.

¨Shoot! ¨ shouted the elder cousin, dropping the tine into the sink and sucking two fingers after getting burnt.

¨Well... ¨said Chloe, eying the black remains which she couldn´t indentify but guessed had meant to be the main course. ¨If there was any doubt in my mind... you´ve dispelled it. You aren´t cut out to be a cordon bleu chef... not even a Betty Crocker, ¨she smiled.

¨This is a complete disaster. Why can´t I ever get this thing right? It looks so easy when Clark´s mum does it. What could the mystery be? You put the meat in the tin, peel some potatoes, slice some carrots and onions and into the oven. ¨

¨Have you prepared any gravy? ¨asked the blonde reporter as Lois scraped the tin clean.

¨Gravy? ¨she echoed with a puzzled look.

¨Yes, gravy or sauce. You know, to baste the meat with. ¨

¨Baste it? ¨she frowned.

¨It´s all Greek to you, isn´t it? ¨smiled Chloe, taking off her jacket.

¨What am I going to do? Clark´s coming any minute now and this was supposed to be a surprise dinner to celebrate our second anniversary as a couple. ¨

¨Look, Lo´. Why don´t you go up and get dressed? I´ll take care of this, ¨ she calmed her down, undoing the cuff buttons and pulling up her sleeves.

¨But... what are you going to do? There´s nothing left in the fridge. I´ve used everything for this meal. ¨

¨Go, Lo´. I´ll call Pietro at L´ucello; he owes me one, ¨responded Chloe, opening the kitchen windows to let fresh air in.

¨Italian? That´d be great, Chlo´, ¨she sighed relieved as Chloe started cleaning the kitchen. ¨Oh, damn!¨ she shouted. ¨I´ve forgotten to unplug the curling iron! ¨

¨Climb up those stairs before we have to add blackout to Tower Inferno, ¨she quipped.

Three quarters of an hour later a key jingled in the front door lock and Clark stepped into an unusually tidy dining-room. The table was set with an embroidered tablecloth Martha had given them as a present on their first anniversary. He scanned the china and silverware with a keen eye and picked up a goblet to inspect it- crystal. Either Lois had a nest egg he wasn´t aware of or he had entered the wrong house.

¨Lois, ¨he called out, ¨I´m home. Have you burnt something? ¨he smiled, loosening his tie and taking off his glasses. He didn´t need them- he had perfect eyesight, but they were part of his disguise, and he only did without them when he was in the privacy of home.

¨How do I look? ¨asked a nervous Lois to her cousin as she finished applying some lipstick.

¨Like a thousand bucks, ¨beamed Chloe when she swirled around to show off the red tight-fitting dress which accentuated her curves.

¨I don´t know what I would have done without you, ¨she confessed, embracing Chloe tightly.

¨What are cousins for? ¨she laughed. ¨Now, get yourself going before he comes up looking for you. ¨

¨Are you sure you don´t want to stay, Chlo´? ¨asked Lois, taking both of her cousin´s hands in hers.

¨I´d a third wheel. Believe me I´ve had enough of that to last me a lifetime. It´s your celebration, Lo´, ¨responded the blonde reporter with a smile.

¨Yes, but if it hadn´t be for you, we´d have never met, ¨she replied emotionally.

¨I beg to differ. Some things are just written in the stars. ¨

¨Do you think Chance is the one for you? ¨asked Lois with a concerned look on her face.

¨Lois, are you upstairs? ¨Clark´s voice was heard again.

¨He´s getting impatient, ¨smirked Chloe.

¨I´m coming, Clark. Why don´t you open the bottle of win in the meantime? ¨ Lois told her husband.

¨OK. You know I was planning to take you out to dinner, ¨he said as he rummaged through the kitchen drawers to get a corkscrew.

¨I´ve beaten you this time, Smallville, ¨she shouted. ¨Chlo´, you haven´t answered my question. ¨

¨I´m content, Lois. With my lousy record when it comes to my relationships with the opposite sex, that´s a lot. ¨

¨You´ve never been a conformist, Chlo´. You deserve more than this lukewarm relationship. ¨

¨It´s not lukewarm!¨she complained. ¨He´s just respecting my wishes. He knows I don´t want to rush things. ¨

¨And is he really comfortable with your decision to wait? ¨

¨He´s not pressuring me, OK? ¨

¨There hasn´t been any incident like the one we talked about three months ago, then? ¨

¨I told you he´s been a gentleman, Lois. What´s wrong with you? Why can´t you be happy for me? ¨

¨I want you to be happy, Chloe. It´s just that there´s something about him... ¨

¨Hey, Lois! Is there someone up there with you?¨ shouted Clark from downstairs.

¨Don´t you dare come up, Smallville, until I´ve had time to get rid of my secret lover. And if you use that super-hearing of yours, there´ll be hell to pay, buster! ¨she shouted back. ¨Chlo´, ¨she whispered, grabbing her cousin gently by one arm and noticing the tears in her eyes, ¨I´d like you to have what I have. ¨

¨Pietro´s specialties will get cold, Lois. Everything´s set. Just remember to send him back the dishware and the cutlery, ¨she responded, taking her jacket and handbag from Lois´ king size bed.

¨Think this over, Chloe. If things are so good between you, how come this is your fifth Saturday in a row he´s left you alone? ¨

¨He´s busy with Lex´s senatorial campaign, ¨she answered grimly.

¨Does Lex know you two are an item? Do you think he´s keeping Chance busy to spite you? ¨

¨First of all, I´m not that important to Lex. Second, he doesn´t know a thing because Chance has made certain we´re never seen together. ¨

¨We both know that very few things escape Luthor´s radar, Chloe. Do you honestly believe he hasn´t had the whole staff on his campaign investigated? Does Chance know you´re researching Cadmus? If Lex had an inkling of what you´re up to, messing with your love life would be one of the many things he´d do to you. ¨

¨I´m going out with Chance, but he doesn´t own me. I´m not dropping Cadmus to prove my allegiance to him. ¨

¨So he´s asked you to stop digging, then, ¨Lois cocked an eyebrow.

¨Chloe, are you up there? ¨asked an impatient Clark.

¨Smallville, what did I tell you about eavesdropping? ¨yelled Lois.

¨He suggested I stop, but he didn´t order me. You´d have done the same if you´d been in my shoes, Lo´, and you know it. As far as he knows, I´ve listened to him and everything´s cool. ¨

¨And what´ll happen when he finds out? ¨

¨I´ll cross that bridge when I come to it. We´re grown-ups, Lois. We should be able to keep our professional and personal lives apart. ¨

¨If you say so, ¨said Lois resignedly. ¨I just hope he won´t break your heart, Chloe. ¨

¨I´m immune to heartbreak, ¨smiled Chloe in an attempt to lighten the mood.

¨Yeah, right, ¨Lois shook her head.

¨Go downstairs, Lo´, and take his breath away, ¨responded Chloe, standing on tiptoe and pressing a kiss on her cheek. ¨I´ll sneak out through the back door. ¨

¨Will you be OK? ¨asked Lois with a frown.

¨Chance said he might come around once the meeting´s over, ¨she answered, putting on her jacket. ¨And if he doesn´t, I have a pretty decent bottle of Chardonnay and a couple of Clive Owen DVDs I haven´t seen yet. ¨

¨Clive Owen, eh? I wish you had the same taste in men when it comes to real life. ¨

¨Lo´!¨Chloe said with reproach.

¨OK. OK. I´m going down. Love you, cuz, ¨finished the brunette reporter, making her way to the stairs.

¨Wow, Lois! Do you think dinner would be spoilt if we heated it up in the microwave? ¨asked Clark seductively when he saw his wife climbing down.

¨Mind off the gutter, Smallville. I need my sustenance first to keep up with you, ¨she answered with a lopsided grin.

Chloe gave one last wistful look at the couple and closed the back door firmly but silently behind her.


	2. Sins of the Father

**CHAPTER 2:** Sins of the Father

It was nine o´clock in the evening when Lex killed the engine of his Mercedes sedan and picked up his briefcase from the passenger seat. It had been an exhausting day at work, despite its being a Saturday. His campaign was taking a substantial amount of his time and he had had to sacrifice part of the weekend to see to his LuthorCorp business; the Cadmus affair had proven to be more of a headache than he had expected and was too sensitive a matter to leave in other people´s hands.

He locked the car with the remote and strode to the private elevator that would take him to his penthouse. As he rode up to the ninetieth floor he could feel the tension build up. Although home was supposed to be a safe haven, a place where he could wind down and forget about his troubles, nothing could be further from the truth.

Any other man would have developed an ulcer with all the venom he carried inside. In fact, if it hadn´t been for the two little lights which illuminated his life, he would have ended his marriage a long time ago. It killed him to see how things had deteriorated. He had invested a lot in the relationship from the emotional point of view while his wife´s heart had never truly been there, as he had found out a couple of years after the wedding. Lana had told him so in the face and he had been forced to face the fact that she would never get over Clark and that his former friend would be a permanent ghost between them.

Lex had done the impossible to gain his wife´s affection. He had wooed her like the lovesick man he was- he almost cringed at the thought of the extents to which he had gone to have his love returned. His father, were he alive, would have lectured him about losing his self-respect for a woman Luthor Sr had always considered beneath his son.

A little over a year ago, Lionel´s first-born had thought his efforts would finally pay off when he came home one evening and found Lana wearing Victoria Secret lingerie. She had seduced him and he had been more than a willing participant in the night of frenzied passion which had ensued. Once again he had let his emotions overrule his intellect, and this time he couldn´t blame Desirée´s pheromones for having blinded his judgement. The change in Lana´s attitude had been too sudden and her behaviour in bed too unlike her former self to be believed. A week later, the real reason behind her behaviour was revealed. The official announcement of Clark Kent´s marriage to Lois Lane in The Planet had crushed Lex´s delusions of ever making his work. By that time, Lana was already carrying their second child and their marital life had come to an end.

The private lift chimed on the ninetieth floor and Lex stepped out into the penthouse foyer. He loosened his tie, undid the first couple of buttons of his white dress shirt and picked up the post Miriam had left on the console table. He shuffled through the envelopes carelessly and his eyes strayed to the silver ashtray where he usually left the car keys- the ones of the Porsche were missing.

¨Good evening, sir¨ Miriam greeted him.

¨Good evening. Is my wife in? ¨asked Lex coldly.

¨No, sir. Mrs Luthor left early this afternoon. She said she´d be home for dinner, ¨responded the servant reluctantly, fearing her master´s volatile reaction.

¨Why haven´t I been informed the children were alone? ¨he said through gritted teeth after checking the time on his watch.

¨I thought your secretary had given you the message, sir. Master Alexander´s already had dinner... ¨she explained.

Lex´s nostrils flared when he heard Miriam´s words. The woman was unmistakably a nervous-wreck and he couldn´t blame her; she had been placed one too many times in the uncomfortable position of having to break unsavoury news to her master. Lex could feel the rage building up as he visualised his five-year-old son sitting alone at the dinner table, a situation he himself had had to endure during his childhood after Lillian´s demise. His secretary could start packing and forget all about a letter of recommendation; he´d make sure she couldn´t get a position in Metropolis or even in Gotham.

¨He shared the table with Paul and me... ¨ she went on. ¨I hope that´s all right, sir. ¨

¨Thanks, Miriam, That was very thoughtful of you, ¨he responded with the ghost of a smile.

¨I know it´s time the child were in bed, but I didn´t have the heart to deny him his plea. He asked me to stay up a little longer so that you could tuck him in. He must be still playing with his trains, ¨she answered, noticeably relieved.

¨You did well, Miriam. I´ll see to the kids and then, I´ll grab something to eat. Anything cold will do, ¨he responded, thinking he´d have to compensate the woman somehow. It wasn´t amongst her duties to see to the children, but she had taken the initiative on many occasions and he was grateful for that.

¨All right, Mr Luthor. I´ll send you a tray to your study, then, ¨said the faithful servant before retracing her steps in the direction of the kitchen.

¨Warm up a bottle, too. Lillian´s feeding time is close, ¨he reminded her.

¨Certainly, sir. ¨

Miriam walked along the penthouse corridor which led to the servant quarters and cursed Lana Luthor for abandoning her defenceless offspring. Lex Luthor might be a shark in the world of business- his public persona was someone she had come to fear and respect- but in spite of his inadequacies in the realm of affections, he loved his children.

Lex opened Alex´s bedroom door and found the boy on the floor making an effort not to fall asleep as the train took a bend on the track and went past the station.

¨Hey, ¨said Lex warmly. ¨Time to go to bed, mister, ¨he added, picking up the boy, who wrapped his arms around his neck and his legs around Lex´s hips.

¨Mummy´s not home, ¨murmured Alex, laying his head on Lex´s shoulder.

¨Daddy´s home now, Alex. Let´s put you to bed, baby. ¨

¨Lilly´s been crying. I sang her that lullaby you used to sing to me. ¨

¨That was nice, ¨answered Lex, swallowing the lump in his throat as he tucked his son in.

¨Miriam said she´s got click, ¨he answered matter-of-factly.

¨Click? ¨frowned Lex.

¨Yes, click. You know, when your tummy hurts, ¨he said questioningly.

¨Oh! ¨smiled Lex. ¨You mean colic. ¨

¨Yes, that´s what I´ve said. There she is again, ¨sighed the boy when the girl´s crying was heard from across the corridor.

¨She´s hungry, ¨responded the billionaire, pressing a kiss on the child´s forehead. ¨Go to sleep, Alex. We´ll go to the Science Museum together tomorrow. What do you say? ¨he offered, combing the boy´s reddish brown hair with his fingers.

¨Cool! ¨beamed the five-year-old.

¨OK, That´s settled then. Sleep tight, Alex, ¨he smiled from the doorway, turning the lights off.

¨You too, dad, ¨answered his son as he turned on his side.

Lex let out a breath leaving the door ajar, relieved the boy hadn´t asked him where Lana was for he was tired of lying and making excuses. He´d never make the mistake of underestimating the powers of observation of a child. He had had his own experience as an infant to rely on; and no matter how hard he had tried to keep his arguments with Lana within the privacy of their own bedroom or, if possible, away from home, his wife´s behaviour and absences were too obvious to miss.

The thirty-five-year-old billionaire pushed the nursery door open and saw the baby moving restless in the crib. He heard her whimpering as he approached her side and felt a tug at his heart the minute she raised her little arms and fisted the front of his dress shirt when he leant forward to pick her up.

The cries started to subside the moment he cradled her in his arms to feed her and were replaced by the rhythmic sucking noises Lilly made as she latched on to the teat of the bottle. Lex looked down at his baby girl and felt the pricking of tears behind his eyelids. She was a beautiful child; Alex had been cute, but Lilly was seraphic; and Lex couldn´t help but think how ironic that was- an angelic creature conceived by two parents whose relationship was anything but idyllic.

He had always been ill-equipped to exteriorise his feelings- human touch being alien to him while growing up- but he was learning fast when it came to Lilly. She had been denied the warmth of a mother, and Lex tried to compensate her with his own overly-hungry need for affection. Lilly needed him, and in the privacy of the nursery he was the father he had always wanted Lionel to be.

The grandfather clock struck two when Lex heard Lana cross the front door of the penthouse and saw her take off her high-heels to make her entrance more inconspicuous. Although he had toyed with the idea of sleeping in a guest room that night and leaving the confrontation for the following morning, he finally resolved to wait her up, sitting alone in the dark of the living room.

¨Sneaking in like a thief, Lana? ¨he asked snidely, turning on the lamp on the end table.

¨Oh! ¨she blinked and placed a hand on her hammering chest. ¨I thought you were already in bed. ¨

¨No, I wasn´t in bed. I was seeing to our daughter. She´s got colic and woke up an hour ago. I think we´ll have to change her formula. But you wouldn´t know that, would you? ¨he cocked an eyebrow questioningly. ¨Where have you been? ¨he asked tersely.

¨We´ve had a last-minute meeting to make some final arrangements for the Metropolis Red Cross Annual Ball, ¨she responded coldly, taking off the earrings and unclasping the pearl choker round her neck.

¨A ten-hour meeting? Don´t lie to me, Lana, ¨ he hissed, setting down the tumbler and getting up from the armchair.

¨What do you want from me, Lex? I play the game of the perfect little wife in front of the cameras for you. I even accompany you to those hateful campaign fundraisers. Anything to let you have your dream of a seat in the Senate come true; ¨she responded disdainfully.

¨You knew this was my world when you accepted my marriage proposal, Lana. And you´ve enjoyed the prerogatives of your position to the full. As to what I want from you... I ceased to expect anything from you as my wife a long time ago, but you´re still the mother of my children, and I won´t condone this unnatural behaviour of yours any longer. God! You´ve let me down in more ways than I care to admit, but I´d never thought you´d abandon your own children- not when your own parents...¨

¨How dare you! ¨she spat at him. ¨My parents... ¨

¨Your parents died, but you´re very much alive and our children need you. Alex is but a five-year-old baby and Lilly´s four months, Lana, and you haven´t picked her up once, ¨he cut her off, feeling a tightening at the pit of his stomach as an unwelcome memory of a similar conversation between his own parents came to his mind.

¨They have _you_, ¨she responded.

¨I´m not their mother. ¨

¨They´re your children, ¨she insisted.

¨And there resides the problem, right? If they were Clark´s children, now... ¨

¨If they were anyone´s but yours... I´m tired of having this same argument all over again. If you had listened to Dr... ¨ she said venomously only to be cut off by a violent slap on her face.

¨Don´t even mention his name in this house! ¨exploded Lex.

¨What does it feel like, Lex? The guilt, I mean, ¨she replied bitterly, wiping the trail of blood from the corner of her mouth.

¨You´re a cruel bitch! What has she done to you? ¨he asked with misty eyes.

¨She killed the only opportunity I had to put an end to this sham of a marriage. ¨

Lex looked at her with daggers in his eyes and clenched his fists deep in the pockets of his trousers, curving the urge to pummel her face. If the children hadn´t been there, and if he hadn´t been in the middle of his campaign to the Senate, he would have given in to the crouching tiger he had always kept in check.

¨I won´t let you destroy our children, Lana. They won´t pay for the sins of the father like I did. You´ll keep playing the charade of the loving wife for the media for as long as it suits me and, once I´m in office, I´ll file for divorce. You´ll get nothing; I´ll make sure of that. You should thank God you´ve given me Alex and Lilly because, if they weren´t in my life, I´d drag your name through the mud. And if I ever catch you being indiscreet, rest assured I´ll pull the trigger myself- and you can be certain they´ll rule your death accidental, ¨he glared at a blanched Lana.


	3. Stood up

Disclaimer: see Chapter 1

A/N:Thanks to those of you who commented on my Chlex fic The Love of Two Men at myfandoms. I managed to get 23 reviews before the deadline for the contest. Now I´ll just have to wait for the jury´s decision.

Here´s a new two-part instalment. And yes, there´s Chlex in Chapter 4.

**CHAPTER 3**: Stood-up

Chloe was roused from her sleep by the shrilling sound of her telephone. It was early, judging by the light that filtered into the room, and she had to make an effort to remember what day of the week it was. She turned around with her eyes closed and had to brace herself not to fall face flat on the floor. Apparently, the Chardonnay and her exhaustion had taken their toll for she hadn´t been able to make it to bed. As she sat up on the sofa and stretched out an arm to reach the handset, she realised the TV was still on. She pulled the remote from under a cushion and turned it off.

¨Hello, ¨she said drowsily, answering the call.

¨Hey, Sullivan! It´s me, Archie, ¨came the lively voice.

¨Archie? ¨mumbled Chloe, rubbing her eyes . ¨It´s seven o´clock on a Sunday morning. Couldn´t it wait until tomorrow? ¨

¨You told me to contact you whenever I got anything juicy, ¨he said, lowering his voice. ¨It´s about you know what. ¨

¨Can you talk or is there someone with you? ¨she responded, suddenly awake.

¨I´d rather not mention anyone on the phone. ¨

¨OK. I´ll meet you at the usual place in... say... forty-five minutes, ¨she suggested.

¨I´ll be there. ¨

The blonde reporter hung up the phone and bit her lower lip pensively. Her research on Cadmus had reached a dead end, and she had seriously considered dropping it. Although it´d have killed her to let down Sylvia, the young woman who had approached her five months before, she had to be honest with herself; Lex had learnt from his past mistakes and the things that he wanted buried stayed buried. In fact, Chloe had spent the past a hundred and fifty days trying to dig up dirt on Cadmus and had come empty-handed. The only real clue she had that something odd was happening was the testimony of the young woman and the impossibility to trace any of the scientists involved in the research and development of Minervit. Chloe hoped Archie had finally got her a good lead; otherwise, she had put her own love life on the line for nothing.

As she cleared her hair of shampoo under the showerhead, Chloe thought about Lois and what she had said about Chance. It had hurt and the blonde girl hadn´t felt like accepting there was some truth in her cousin´s words. He had made excuses and stood her up more than once, and the previous evening had been no exception- he had made a promise and hadn´t kept it. Maybe she was to blame. Maybe he was getting tired of waiting. No, that wasn´t true. If he loved her as he claimed he did, he wouldn´t resent her decision not to take their relationship to the physical level yet. She was aware that it was more difficult for a man to control his urges- she couldn´t help but remember the time he had tried to break her resolve a few months ago- but... . God! She had to stop mulling it over. It was her body and her life, damn it! She was twenty-nine and still a virgin; but that didn´t mean she was a freak. She just wasn´t ready. She didn´t feel ready. Or maybe ... it wasn´t her. Maybe he wasn´t the one. Maybe... maybe Lois was right. ¨Oh, you should stop rambling and get ready for the rendez-vous , Sullivan! ¨

¨Old habits die hard, ¨said her source as he sat down on the park bench next to Chloe, who was sipping coffee from a Styrofoam cup and nibbling at a doughnut sprinkled with blanched almonds.

¨You want one? ¨she asked, offering him another doughnut.

¨Tasty as they look, I think I´ll pass, ¨he said, touching his pot belly.

¨OK. More for me then. So... tell me. What have you got that justifies my being dragged out of bed on a Sunday? ¨she cocked an eyebrow.

¨I´ve got you a name and an address, ¨he responded, giving her a slip of paper with the information. ¨Her ex-husband was a researcher at Cadmus. She claims your source´s allegations are true. ¨

¨You said ex-husband. How do we know she isn´t doing this out of resentment? Did she tell you when and why she divorced? ¨

¨She said she was tired of the secrecy and that it was her who filed for divorce. If she´s to be believed, she has proof of what Sylvia´s told you. ¨

¨Do you think she´d be ready to go on the record? ¨

¨I don´t know about that. It´s Luthor we´re talking about, after all. I´d be shitting my pants. She said she´s willing to give you the documentation she has. As to whether she´d allow you to interview her... I have my doubts. ¨

¨Well, I shouldn´t look a gift horse in the mouth, I guess. This is the best lead in months, ¨she sighed. ¨Thanks, Archie. What would I do without you? ¨she smiled warmly.

¨ Are you sure you don´t want to marry me? ¨he joked.

¨A computer geek and Inspector Columbo. What a couple we´d be! ¨she quipped.

¨That Chance sure is a lucky guy, ¨he said seriously. ¨Be careful, kiddo, ¨he added, getting up of the bench.

¨Always, ¨she murmured, squeezing his hand goodbye.

Chloe got to her flat and pulled out all the files she had of Cadmus on her computer. She went through them for the umpteenth time in an attempt to find something that she might have passed over inadvertently; it was useless. Although she sincerely hoped what this woman had would be the key to put all the pieces together, she knew better than to have high expectations when the Luthor surname was involved.

By three o´clock in the afternoon she had finished typing her column for the following issue of the newspaper and done the washing of the clothes which have piled up during the week. Even though she hated doing the house chores at the weekend, she didn´t have the time or the inclination to do them when she got home after an exhausting day in the bullpen.

Hanging the last item of clothing on the airer, she decided it was high time she pampered herself. She would run a hot bath with those heavenly smelling bath salts Lois had insisted she should buy when they went on their last shopping spree; and maybe try out one of those masks which, according to Cosmo, left your skin smooth like a baby´s. Unfortunately, her plans were spoilt when, having stripped down to her undies, the front door bell rang.

¨Damn! Why is it I can never enjoy one moment of peace when I´m at home? ¨ she fumed, fetching her green satin robe. ¨I´m coming. I´m coming, ¨she mumbled when whoever was at her door kept making the bell ring.

Chloe looked through the peephole and sighed. Chance. He was at least fifteen hours late and, judging by what she had just seen, he came bearing gifts.

¨Chloe, I know you´re there, honey, ¨came his muffled voice from the corridor.

¨I´m mad at you, Chance. And don´t think for a minute a dozen roses will get you off the hook!¨ she frowned, swinging the door open, looking at the bunch he presented her with.

¨What about a dozen roses and a kilo of Brazilian coffee beans? ¨he smiled apologetically.

¨I´ll take the coffee and you can put those flowers where the sun doesn´t shine, ¨she spat at him, grabbing the packet of her favourite infusion and starting to shut the door on him.

¨Please, Chloe. We have to talk, ¨he pleaded with her.

¨Take that puppy look off your face, Chance, ¨she glared at him.

¨I don´t want to argue with you in the corridor, Chloe, ¨he said seriously.

¨You´ve got two minutes, ¨ she told him, opening the door to let him in.

¨Thanks, ¨he responded, stepping in. ¨You look gorgeous in that robe, ¨he lowered his voice, resting his eyes on the swell of her breasts, which peeked through the front of her clothes.

¨Wait here a sec, ¨she told him, berating herself for opening the door to him with such a scanty barrier between them.

¨You know there´s no need for you to get changed, ¨he spoke up as she walked into her room.

¨I´m giving you time to think what excuse to use this time, Chance, ¨she answered as she put on a sweatshirt.

Chance went into the kitchen and started opening cabinets until he found what he was looking for. He opened the tap and filled a vase with water to put the flowers in. Then, he strode back to the living-room and placed the roses next to Chloe´s laptop on her desk- that was when he noticed a sheet of paper with some scribbling in Chloe´s handwriting.

¨OK. Your two minutes start running now, ¨she interrupted his musings, returning to the room.

¨What´s this? ¨he asked gravely, showing her the piece of paper she had been writing her crazy theories on. The flow chart didn´t say much, but the essentials were enough for an intelligent man such as Chance to arrive at the conclusion she had been working on her Cadmus research.

¨You had no right to go though my papers, ¨she said through clenched teeth, snatching the paper away from his hands.

¨It was lying on your desk for anyone to see, ¨he explained.

¨I wasn´t expecting visitors, and this is my house, Chance. And these,¨ she added, making an encompassing gesture, ¨are my things. This is who I am. ¨

¨You promised. You said you were going to quit digging. I love you, Chloe, but this has to stop. ¨

¨First of all, I didn´t promise anything; you assumed I was going to follow your ´suggestion´. Second, I don´t accept orders from anyone. This is my job. This is what I live for. You knew when we started seeing each other that I didn´t write the society column. I´m an investigative reporter, Chance. ¨

¨You know how important this assignment´s to me, Chloe. ¨

¨I´m aware of that, and you can´t accuse me of standing in your way. I´ve given you time and space, Chance. I´ve stepped aside and made compromises. I really want this to work, but I also need to feel I´m not alone in this. ¨

¨I´m doing this is for us, Chloe, ¨he responded, tucking a few strands of blonde hair behind her ear and leaning into her for a kiss.

¨Chance... ¨she murmured and was cut off by his lips on hers. ¨No... ¨ she squirmed in his arms, pushing him away.

¨What´s wrong with you, Chloe? ¨

¨What´s wrong? ¨she shouted. ¨You´re trying to manipulate me, Chance. ¨

¨How can a kiss be manipulation? ¨he snapped.

¨You haven´t answered my question yet, Chance. What excuse do you have now for not turning up yesterday? ¨

¨I told you I ´might´ come after the meeting. ¨

¨It isn´t just the meeting, Chance. I´m not asking you to go out every night, but you don´t seem to have five minutes to ... I don´t know... call me in the middle of the day... ask me how I´m doing... send me a stupid card or something corny, ¨she responded with misty eyes.

¨What´s this, Chloe? Some twenty-something crisis? ¨

¨How can you be so insensitive, Chance? I just want what any woman wants, ¨she reproached him.

¨Well... when Luthor´s campaign is over... ¨he responded annoyed.

¨Don´t use Lex as an excuse, Chance, ¨she cut him off tensely.

¨Lex? He´s Mr Luthor to me. I forgot your acquaintance with him goes way back and so does your obsession with writing exposés on him and his business. ¨

¨I´m not obsessed. I´m not to blame if LuthorCorp´s always involved in stuff worthy of the front page. ¨

¨Tell me, Chloe. Has there ever been anything between you two? ¨he asked speculatively.

¨What? ¨she asked with a puzzled look.

¨You´ve heard me, ¨he said tersely.

¨Where the hell have you taken that idea from? ¨she responded outraged.

¨I´m in the business of reading people, Chloe. Knowing what a person communicates through his speech and body language is the bible in my trade. ¨

¨Well, it appears you´ve never known how to read me, ¨she laughed. ¨I´m a reporter, Chance. Lex would never have anything to do with someone like me. He´s allergic to the press- he should, with all the skeletons he´s got hidden in the closet, ¨she added ironically.

¨Does that mean _you_ wanted something to happen but _he_ turned you down? ¨he cocked an eyebrow.

¨That means this subject´s closed, ¨she answered grimly.

¨That means I´m right, ¨he said smugly. ¨So all this digging is nothing but a personal vendetta. ¨

¨I´m not going to explain myself to you, Chance. I´m tired of playing these games. ¨

¨So am I. ¨


	4. The Man Behind the Mask

Disclaimer: see Chapter 1

A/N:Thanks to those of you who commented on my Chlex fic The Love of Two Men at myfandoms. I managed to get 23 reviews before the deadline for the contest. Now I´ll just have to wait for the jury´s decision.

Here´s a new two-part instalment. And yes, there´s Chlex in Chapter 4.

**CHAPTER 4**: The Man behind the Mask

Metropolis Red Cross Annual Ball

The Metropolis Red Cross Annual Ball was one of the most loved traditional events in the city and also a showcase for the rich and powerful. The top of the town were always in attendance and The Plaza was the conservative though luxurious venue where it was held. LuthorCorp and its young CEO were amongst the organisation´s main benefactors, while the billionaire´s young wife took part in the Red Cross board of directors.

Although Lex would have preferred to stay at home with the children, his PR consultant had convinced him he needed the exposure, and particularly the kind of propaganda an event such as this could provide him with. On close interrogation, Chance had confessed he had good word that Cadmus was under the scrutiny of the press and that, since the issue here was ´health care´, the annual ball was the perfect place to do damage control.

Lex had found the leaking to the press disturbing to say the least. He had taken great efforts to keep everything quiet, and it seemed that everything would finally explode in his face. Even though he had tried to get the name of Chance´s source in the papers, the young man had remained adamant. However, Lex would never allow that to deter him from his purpose- he´d get the name using some other means and then, he´d take the matter in his hands.

Lana had been the model wife in front of the cameras for a month now. She still went out but took care to be back for dinner time. Notwithstanding, her attitude towards the children hadn´t changed- she tolerated Alex, but it was Lex who got up when Lilly woke up in the middle of the night.

The young billionaire was in his element and moved around the ballroom making use of his polished manners and his conversational skills. However, there wasn´t anything he hated more than socialising; wearing a poker-face and smiling on cue were second-nature to him, but pretending in front of an audience he had a successful marriage with Lana was turning unbearable.

¨Excuse me, ¨he said apologetically when he felt the mobile vibrate in his pocket. ¨I´ve got to pick up this call, ¨he added, recognising the caller ID.

¨You never rest, do you? ¨smiled the middle-aged businessman with whom Lex had been conversing.

¨Rome wasn´t built in one day, ¨responded the billionaire with a smirk.

¨Luthor, ¨he said gravely on the phone, walking out onto the balcony. ¨What have you got for me? I want the name, ¨he asked grimly. ¨Have you got any pictures? Good. Bring them to me first thing in the morning. Yes, yes, proceed as planned, ¨he flipped the mobile shut and re-entered the ballroom to find his attention attracted by a familiar blonde head and his own PR consultant.

Chloe had arrived at the ball half an hour before Luthor and his entourage. Although she wasn´t in charge of the society column, she had offered herself to cover for a colleague who had called in sick. Attending the do would allow her to wind down and wear a cocktail dress Lois had talked her into buying to cheer herself up, and- at the same time- give her the chance to corner Lex for an interview. Well... not exactly an interview.

The blonde reporter picked up an hors d´oeuvre from a passing tray and let her eyes roam around the room; she appeared to be the only woman without an escort. Well, she had one but wasn´t a member of the opposite sex.

¨God, Chloe! I should have listened to you. These high-heels are killing me, ¨whined Lois, lifting her foot to massage it.

¨And the night is just beginning, Lo´, ¨answered Chloe, nibbling on a crab stuffed voulez-vant.

¨And where are the damn chairs? ¨frowned her cousin.

¨It isn´t a dinner party, Lois. It´s a ball. People are supposed to dance or mingle with a glass and an hors d´oeuvre in their hand, ¨she explained, walking towards the table where the punch was.

¨Do you think there might be a seat in the rest rooms? ¨asked the brunette, placing her weight on the foot that hurt less.

¨I guess so, ¨answered the blonde, taking the ladle to pour herself some punch.

¨Will you be OK if I leave you for a while? ¨asked Lois with concern in her voice.

¨Sure, go ahead, ¨smiled Chloe.

She was sipping at the cold punch when she felt a presence beside her and a perfume she immediately recognised for it had been her who had given him the first bottle as a present.

¨What are you doing here, Chloe?¨ he asked, pouring himself a glass.

¨Enjoying a night out. It´s a free country, isn´t it? ¨came her response as she stretched out an arm to grab a seafood kebab.

¨You´re trying to piss me off, aren´t you? You knew he´d be here. You won´t pull a stunt in front of eight hundred people, will you? ¨he hissed.

¨I´m doing my job, Chance, ¨she brought her food to her mouth.

¨Whatever you think you have... ¨he said threateningly.

¨My, my, you´re starting to sound like a Luthor, ¨she said under her breath as she bit the shrimp.

¨Well, look who´s here. If it isn´t Miss Chloe Sullivan, ¨a cultured voice cut them off.

¨Mr Luthor, ¨replied the reporter, holding Lex´s unwavering gaze.

¨It´s been a long time. I didn´t know you did charity balls. What have you done to fall from grace? ¨

¨I needed a distraction and volunteered for the job, Mr Luthor. I still do investigative research. ¨

¨And very interesting pieces you write. A real loss for The Planet, I should say, ¨he smirked, taking two flutes of champagne from a tray. ¨Bubbly? ¨he offered her. ¨It´s a 1960´s Bollinger from my own cellar. ¨

¨Vintage champagne for eight hundred people. Someone´s feeling guilty? ¨she quipped, leaving the punch and taking the flute from Lex´s proffered hand.

¨I can afford the expense, and the Red Cross is a worthy cause, Miss Sullivan, ¨he responded, boring his eyes into her. ¨What story are you working on? ¨he added, sipping at his drink.

¨I´m not in the habit of sharing that kind of information, Mr Luthor. The world of journalism is very competitive and stories like the ones I usually work on can make a reporter´s a career and destroy the lives of many influential people, ¨she answered, holding his intense gaze unflinchingly.

¨I was telling Miss Sullivan that this is hardly the place or the occasion to carry out an investigative exploit and that, in spite of her previous acquaintance with you, sir, she´d have to use the proper channels to get an interview, ¨interrupted Chance, afraid of the direction the conversation was taking.

¨That´s for me to decide, Mr Kelley, ¨said Lex gravely. ¨Is that what you want, Miss Sullivan- an interview? I´d be willing to talk to you about my plans for the Senate, ¨he added, bringing the glass to his lips once again.

¨I don´t do politics, Mr Luthor. ¨

¨Call me Lex, Chloe. I still can´t get used to being called Mr Luthor. It reminds me too much of my father. As to your not writing on politics, that´s not true and you know it. Your articles on Senator Kent´s Agricultural Reform Bill and her fight to introduce changes into the Juvenile Crime Court were remarkable. ¨

¨You´ve read those? ¨she asked surprised.

¨I have. They should have been published by The Planet not the Metropolis Herald. I´ve been following your career with interest, Chloe. Perry was a fool to let you go, ¨he responded matter-of-factly.

¨Is this a strategy to get votes, Lex? Sweet talk won´t get you anywhere with me. We know each other only too well to be playing these games, ¨she told him with the ghost of a smile.

¨Take it for what it is, Chloe: an expression of my admiration for a talented and upright reporter, ¨he said seriously.

¨Hello, Chloe, ¨said Lana with fake warmth as she threaded an arm through Lex´s and leant on him.

¨Lana, ¨the blonde reporter greeted her, getting ready for the brunette´s spite.

¨It´s nice to see you dressed up for a change. Those clothes you usually wear make you look like an old spinster. Are you unescorted or have you brought along that puppy-eyes boyfriend of yours? What was his name? Chippy? Jiffy?¨she addressed Chloe disdainfully.

¨Jimmy. James Olsen. That finished ages ago, ¨she responded coldly.

¨Hey, everyone! What´s this? The Twilight Zone? Have I fallen into a black hole and ended up in Smallville? ¨joked Lois as she joined the group.

¨Good evening, Miss Lane. Or should I say Mrs Kent?¨smirked Lex, welcoming the arrival of Clark´s wife and her tongue-in-cheek humour.

Although he could feel Lana´s tension by the way she was gripping his arm, almost cutting his circulation, he was glad to see Chloe relax a bit.

¨Lex, ¨Lois greeted him with civility. ¨Lana, you´ll have to give me some pointers here. How have you managed to lose the pounds you put on during your pregnancy? ¨

¨It´s in the genes, Miss Lane. Why? Are you expecting? ¨asked Lana, trying to control the tremor in her voice.

¨We´re certainly working on it, ¨said Lois with a glint in her eyes, enjoying Lana´s discomfiture.

¨How old is your baby now? ¨Chloe cut in, thanking Lois for her retort.

¨Lilly´s five months, ¨came Lex´s response; and the blonde felt the love and pride of the father in his voice.

¨You´ve named her after your mum. Lillian´s a beautiful name, ¨answered Chloe warmly, feeling a sudden nostalgia for the days of old when they could banter without resentment or second-guessing.

¨She´s as beautiful as her grandmother was, ¨confessed Lex with a fleeting look of something Chloe couldn´t pinpoint.

¨We should mingle, Lex. We don´t want your prospective voters to think you´re favouring anyone, ¨Lana butted in when she stopped being the centre of attention.

¨Your wishes are orders, Mrs Luthor, ¨answered Lex, seething inside but wanting to avoid making a scene in public. ¨Ladies, ¨he said, ¨I hope you´ll excuse us. ¨

¨Mr Magnusson was asking for you, Mr Luthor. They´re getting ready for the speeches, ¨Chance told Lex. ¨Miss Sullivan, ¨he added tersely.

¨Goodbye, Mr Kelley, ¨responded Chloe gravely.

¨She´s a bitch, ¨hissed Lois when the group had disbanded. ¨I almost feel pity for cue ball. ¨

¨He wouldn´t appreciate anyone´s pity one bit. Besides, he´s made his bed and now, he has to lie on it, ¨ said Chloe, going back to the table for another kebab. ¨I´m happy for Clark. He couldn´t have made a better change. And before you say anything, it isn´t me being biased. You´re my cousin, but you´re also my best friend´s wonderful wife. I´d have lost him if it hadn´t been for you. She was changing him. She´s got the virtue to blind people with that saccharine smile and her fake good intentions. ¨

¨I haven´t seen anything of that tonight, ¨laughed Lois.

¨No, she´s shown her claws because she feels threatened. Besides, she doesn´t need to pretend with us. She knows we know who she really is, ¨said Chloe bitterly, looking at Lex and his spouse at a distance.

¨Are you going to seek him out tonight and confront him with what you´ve found out? ¨asked Lois, taking a stuffed olive.

¨I think I´ll go through the proper channels. I´ll pick up his gauntlet. I´ll ask for an interview with the candidate to the Senate and I´ll pounce on the CEO of LuthorCorp, ¨she cocked an eyebrow.

¨Do you think he suspects anything? ¨frowned her cousin.

¨If he does, I know him well enough to realise he´s eager to cross swords with someone of his stature for a change, ¨she smiled, noticing the billionaire was looking her way.

Lex was finding it extremely hard to concentrate on his interlocutor. The news he had got over the phone, and Lana´s behaviour just a while ago, had poisoned his expectations for the night. Moreover, a grim foreboding told him things would be getting worse. Something was definitely wrong; he could feel it in his bones. His fears were confirmed when his mobile vibrated for the second time that night.

¨Miriam? ¨he asked with a catch in his voice as he recognised the caller ID on the display and made his excuses. ¨What´s wrong? Calm down... Don´t worry. It isn´t your fault... These things happen. Breathe... I need you to stay calm. Yes, dress Alex up and take the baby to Metropolis General. I´ll be there as soon as I can, ¨he told the faithful servant, flipping the phone shut.

He took a deep breath and scanned the ballroom for Lana. She was in the middle of the dance floor, twirling in someone else´s arms. Over a year ago his possessive streak and jealous nature would have driven him mad and forced him to make a statement to show Lana who was the master, but not any more. If there was anyone he thought of when his eyes dwelled on his wife, that would be his offspring.

He approached the couple with his usual poker face and Lana´s dancing partner immediately excused himself and left the dance floor.

¨Lana, I´m sorry to spoil your fun tonight, but I´m afraid we´ll have to leave, ¨he told her, noticing the beginning of a pout he knew only too well.

¨What about your speech? ¨ she asked annoyed.

¨Mr Kelley can deliver it on my behalf. I´m sure he´s looking forward to stepping into my shoes, ¨he responded coldly, grabbing her by the arm and taking her to a lateral corridor.

¨What´s this, Lex? You insisted on coming here tonight and now, you´re dragging me away. Wasn´t this supposed to be an opportunity to do damage control? ¨she glared at him.

¨Our daughter´s more important than my political aspirations or my company´s PR right now. Those can be fixed with an intelligent use of resources and some well-devised propaganda, ¨he hissed. ¨Pick up your coat at the cloakroom. I´ll bring the car around. ¨

¨What´s wrong with her? ¨she asked with a frown.

¨Miriam couldn´t bring her temperature down. I told her to take her to the hospital. I´ll call her paediatrician from the car. ¨

¨You go, I.. ¨she responded in an attempt to defy him.

¨You´re coming with me, Lana, whether you like it or not. She´s yours as well as mine. You won´t do this to her- I won´t allow it. You´ve already covered your quota of meanness for one night. Your behaviour in front of Chloe was inexcusable. You were a real bitch back there, and if we hadn´t been in public, I´d have rattled your teeth, ¨he cut her off, seething.

¨She´s always had Clark to defend her. Don´t tell me you´ve also got the hots for her, ¨she answered disdainfully.

¨You´re sick, you know that? Chloe Sullivan´s done nothing to you. She´s at least ten times the woman you´ll ever be. I truly admire her convictions and her fierce loyalty- two things which are completely alien to you. Now... you´ll do as I say, Lana; you wouldn´t like to defy me. We´ll finish this conversation as soon as this thing with Lilly´s over. Things´ll change, I can promise you, ¨he finished, propelling his wife to the elevator.

Chloe straightened up and got out of her hideaway. She had been on her way back from the toilet when she spotted Lex and Lana in the middle of what appeared to be a heated argument. Although the reporter wasn´t really interested in the billionaire´s private life- she wasn´t looking for any skeleton in that particular closet- her curiosity had got the best of her. It seemed Lana was just as bitchy to her husband and her babies as she was to those who didn´t think of her as God´s greatest gift.

Chloe had heard the hurt and pain in Lex´s voice when talking about their baby daughter and realised that was part of what she hadn´t been able to identify in the fleeting look she had seen on Lex´s face a while ago. Chloe was suddenly seized by a wave of conflicting emotions. For the first time in years she had been able to see the wounded human being behind the mask and had felt an overwhelming sympathy towards him. She tried to crush that emotion in view of what she´d discovered about Cadmus; she simply had to. However, it was turning out to be harder than she cared to admit.


	5. Desertion

**CHAPTER 5**: Desertion

Metropolis General Hospital

Thirty-six hours had gone by since Lilly´s admission to the paediatric aisle of Metropolis General Hospital and Lex hadn´t moved from her side, except for the occasional visit to the toilet. He had scarcely grabbed a few cups of lousy hospital coffee when the baby´s doctor and the head of nurses convinced him to shower and have a rest in the adjoining room where Alex was sleeping peacefully.

The first twelve hours had been agony when not even the specialists he had brought from NY could diagnose what was wrong with the girl. Lex had started to despair, and it wasn´t until the results of a battery of allergy tests arrived that he was able to breathe relieved. Apparently, the new formula had provoked an anaphylactic reaction which triggered a pulmonary crisis. Lex had cursed his genes once again for it seemed Lillian would be prone to asthma attacks like the ones he used to have before the first meteor shower.

Lana had displayed a certain degree of maternal instinct or, at least, sympathy for Lillian´s condition. However, no sooner had the diagnosis been given, she slipped away from the hospital- leaving the father and son to see to the crisis alone. By the time Lex noticed Lana was gone, the baby had been transferred to a private room, and Alex had fallen asleep on Lex´s lap.

Although the billionaire had asked Miriam to take Alex home with her, the boy had stood his ground, insisting he wanted to stay with his dad to watch over Lilly. Lex had felt a sudden tug at his heart on noticing the tears that glazed Alex´s eyes and saw himself reflected in them- he could still remember what it felt like to be the elder brother of a fragile baby. Thoughts of Julian still haunted his life from time to time and made him wonder what his childhood would have been like if his little brother had lived long enough to love him.

A couple of hours of troubled sleep later, Lex woke up and experienced a strong urge to check out on Lilly. The father-daughter connection would never cease to amaze him; the baby had awakened and, sensing the unknown environment around her, had started whimpering.

¨Hey, Lilly. Everything´s OK, baby, ¨he soothed her. ¨Dad´s here. ¨

¨Excuse me, Mr Luthor, ¨said a young nurse quietly. ¨There´s a call for you. ¨

¨Do you know who it is? ¨ he frowned, focusing again on Lilly, who was grabbing his ring finger tightly.

¨A Mr Mercer. He said it´s urgent, sir, ¨responded the girl who had seen Mrs Luthor sneak out. ¨I´ll stay with Lillian, Mr Luthor, ¨she smiled, sensing the billionaire´s reluctance to leave the baby. ´Lana Luthor´s a fool for walking out on such a beautiful family, ´ she thought.

¨All right. It won´t take long, ¨he responded, pulling his finger gently out of the baby´s grasp. ¨Be nice, Lilly. I´ll be back soon, ¨he added when she wouldn´t let the finger go. ¨Rub her tummy like this. That usually lulls her to sleep, ¨he told the young woman as she approached the crib.

¨She´ll be OK. Won´t you, sweetie? ¨said the nurse warmly.

¨Thanks, ¨he answered quietly, leaving the room to get the call.

Lex marched to the nurses´ station, going over different possible scenarios that could have persuaded his head of security to dare drag him away from his daughter´s side- a breakthrough in the Cadmus affair being at the forefront of Lex´s mind.

¨Excuse me, Miss... Patterson, ¨said Lex , reading the nurse´s name on her badge, ¨would it be possible for me to take this call somewhere private? ¨

¨I suppose you could use Matron´s office. I guess she won´t mind, ¨smiled the thirty-something nurse, showing him the way to her superior´s realm. ¨Press number three and wait for the click to know I´ve hung up, ¨she added before turning around to leave the office.

¨Thanks, Miss Patterson. And don´t worry. I´ll leave everything as I´ve found it. ¨

¨You´d better or it´ll be my head on a platter, ¨she smirked, shutting the door firmly behind her.

¨Mercer, any news on the C. Affair? ¨asked Lex when the call was put through.

¨No, sir. We´re still working on it, ¨answered the head of security.

¨Then, what crisis at LuthorCorp is worth dragging me away from my daughter´s side? ¨hissed Lex.

¨I´m sorry, sir, but... ¨the employee began to apologise.

¨When one runs a corporation such as mine, one needs trust the people who are under one´s orders will make sure things won´t go out of hand. It seems that, once again, my trust´s been misplaced, ¨he said grimly, cutting the man off.

¨It isn´t a company crisis, Mr Luthor. It´s your wife, ¨responded the head of security tensely.

¨My wife? ¨echoed Lex gravely.

¨We´ve lost her, sir, ¨said Mercer, trying to control the tremor in his voice, afraid of his boss´s volatile nature.

¨You´ve lost her. Tell me, Mercer, how hard can it be to follow a woman on a shopping spree? I guess that´s what she was doing, right? It´s Friday, isn´t it? ¨snapped Lex through clenched teeth.

¨Yes, Mr Luthor. We had a security detail following her, but Mrs Luthor must have spotted him and entered a toilet in the mall to lose him. She disappeared and our man never saw her leave, ¨ explained the man.

¨When was this? ¨he queried coldly.

¨Six hours ago. ¨

¨Six hours ago? And what have you been doing these six hours, Mercer? ¨responded the billionaire menacingly.

¨We´ve checked all railway and bus stations, car rentals and even called the airlines, sir, ¨explained the man in a rush.

¨Have you contacted Nell Potter? ¨

¨Our man in Chicago´s told us Mrs Luthor´s not at her aunt´s, sir. ¨

¨What about what we talked on the phone the night of the ball, Mercer? Has it been taken care of yet? ¨

¨The traces have suddenly disappeared, Mr Luthor, ¨swallowed the man.

¨Disappeared? ¨said Lex with a voice laced with venom. ¨It seems I´m surrounded by a bunch of incompetents. Tell me, Mercer, haven´t you thought of connecting the dots? Do I have to do your work for you? ¨he shouted on the apparatus.

¨I´m sorry, sir. It´s inexcusable. I promise we´ll find out Mrs Luthor´s whereabouts. ¨

¨I don´t want promises, Mercer. I want answers within the hour or heads will start rolling, beginning with yours. Rest assured that even if there are answers several people will lose their jobs, and I´ll have the pleasure of suggesting no one hires them, ¨barked the young CEO, slamming the phone down.

Lex shut his eyes tightly and made a supreme effort to control his seething rage. His hands were now clenched into two tight fists, and the urge to start hurling things across the room was almost unbearable. Had he been in his own office at LuthorCorp, the smashing would have started as soon as the words ¨We´ve lost her¨ had left Mercer´s mouth.

He knew this was bound to happen; that´s why he had had Lana followed. But the fact that she had dared defy him in such a way and stoop so low as to leave her babies without any scruples was a hard pill to swallow.

He was hurting and he could feel his heart bleed; and the reason wasn´t she had finally decided to desert him, but rather, that their children would suffer her abandonment just because his blood course through their veins.

METROPOLIS WARRINGTON DEPARTMENT STORES

¨Hey, Cuz, look at this! ¨exclaimed Lois, enthralled by a state-of-the-art laptop in the electronics and office equipment section of the department store. ¨Wouldn´t it be the perfect present for Clark´s birthday? ¨

¨Look at the price tag, Lo´. It´s got so many zeroes my eyes are getting crossed. And it doesn´t even serve you coffee, ¨ she cocked an eyebrow.

¨Oh, come on, Chlo´. I´m getting desperate here. You said we´d pull our resources together, ¨she frowned.

¨I said we´d pull our ´intellectual´ resources together to decide on what to buy him, not that I´d ask the IMF for a stand-by credit, ¨she laughed. ¨I´m not a billionaire like a certain bald guy we know. He can give out state-of-the-art laptops like candy, but I´m third world as far as my budget goes, ¨she quipped. ¨Do you think they might have some good old-fashioned typewriter somewhere? ¨

¨Talking about baldie. Have you ask him for a private interview yet? ¨asked Chloe´s cousin.

¨I phoned his office yesterday and his personal assistant told me he isn´t granting interviews at the moment, ¨answered Chloe, checking out a price tag.

¨And? ¨said Lois, encouraging her to elaborate.

¨How about this pencil sharpener?¨responded the blonde reporter. ¨Too tight-fisted? ¨

¨Chloe, I can´t believe you´ve accepted that lame excuse. He must have forewarned his assistant the morning after the ball. ¨

¨Nah! He was eager to cross swords with me, I could tell. I bet he had a very good reason not to grant any interviews the last couple of days. ¨

¨And you know what the reason is, don´t you? What happened on your way back from the toilet the night of the ball? ¨

¨Nothing happened. Why are you asking? ¨

¨I smell a rat here. My reporter´s instinct tells me you´re hiding something. I saw the look on your face when you came back to the ballroom, Chlo´.¨

¨You must have seen boredom written all over my face. I was dying to leave, get home, kick off my shoes and have a heavenly cup of java. ¨

¨It wasn´t boredom. It was something else. Tell me, did you see or talk with cue ball... ? ¨ranted Lois, her hands on her hips.

¨Sh!! ¨Chloe shut her up, putting a raised hand in front of Lois´ face, and getting closer to one of the plasma TVs which were showing the breaking news.

´_The aircraft involved was a 737... which is usually configured for seats for ninety-six to a hundred and thirty-eight passengers. ´_

¨Excuse me, ¨said Chloe to a shop assistant, ¨where´s this? ¨

¨Washington DC, ¨answered the young man, turning up the volume.

_´National Safety Board officials were en route to the site over Chesapeake Bay, twenty miles south of the city limits, where Southern Airlines flight... 927 from Metropolis, Kansas, went down about half an hour ago with a hundred and three passengers. ´_

¨I´m sorry, Lois, ¨apologised Chloe, her face suddenly blanched. ¨I´ve got to go. ¨

¨Geez, look at that! Where was Clark when this happened?¨ exclaimed Lois, her eyes glued to the screen. ¨ Wait! ¨she came out of her stupor as Chloe made a move to go. ¨This is a catastrophe, Chlo´, but you don´t cover this kind of news, ¨she said, clutching her right arm to detain her cousin.

¨I think Chance was on that flight, ¨Chloe swallowed the lump in her throat, fighting the tears which were starting to well up. ¨Oh, Lois! What if he´s dead? What if... ? We had a horrible argument before he left on this trip. We´d sort of made up, and then, he told me he had to travel to DC for Lex´s campaign, and I just... flipped,¨ she sobbed.

¨Hey, hey! Calm down, ¨Lois tried to soothe her, rubbing her arms.

¨I´ve got to ... get a flight. I´ve got... to... ¨she hiccupped.

¨You won´t need to. You´ve got your own private airline, remember? ¨her cousin told her with the ghost of a smile. ¨He´ll get you there in the wink of an eye. ¨Come, Chlo´! Let´s go find Clark, ¨she finished, wrapping an arm around the blonde reporter´s shoulders.

An hour had gone by since Lilly´s paediatrician had authorised her release and Lex was driving to the penthouse with both children in the back seat; their safety belts securely fastened. He was eager to get them home and had to control his tendency to speed up with the precious cargo on board. He wanted to get to the apartment as soon as possible to answer Mercer´s call away from Alex´s ears and, considering there were just a few minutes left for the deadline he had set, he knew the mobile would ring any moment now.

LEX´S PENTHOUSE

Alex was building an intricate structure with his Lego on the floor of his bedroom, and Lex was bottle-feeding Lilly in his study, when the phone rang. The young billionaire got up, locked the oaken doors, and put the call on speaker to be able to hold his daughter while making her burp.

¨Any news, Mr Mercer? ¨ he asked tersely.

¨We´ve found her, sir, ¨answered the head of security, and Lex breathed relieved. ¨I´m faxing you the details. ¨

¨Good work, ¨said Lex gravely as he took the sheet from the fax machine and perused the contents. ¨Mercer? ¨he called out with a tight voice, lowering his mouth to press a gentle kiss on the baby´s bald head when his tension communicated to her and she started crying.¨Tell them to get the jet ready. ¨

¨Yes, sir, ¨responded the employee.

¨And Mercer? You´re all fired, ¨he finished, hanging up on him


	6. On the Same Boat Part 1

CHAPTER 6: On the Same Boat (PART 1)

Dulles Airport- Washington DC

Thanks to Superman´s aid Chloe arrived at the capital city in no time. Although the blonde had protested Clark had better things to do than play airliner for his best friend, the married couple had been adamant, and she had been forced to comply with their wishes.

The air terminal was buzzing with activity and swarmed with reporters from the leading syndicated and cable TV news programmes. All flights had been cancelled and re-directed to the nearest airports as the personnel worked on the preparations to receive the victims and make the list of casualties to start contacting the families.

_´You can see the tail is sticking out of the water. You can hear choppers above,_´said a veteran reporter from Metropolis WTV, who had travelled all the way to Washington to cover the news. _´Search and rescue operations are under way... ninety-five passengers and crew members are now feared lost. Navy divers have just arrived... ´_

¨Chloe, ¨said Clark in a calm voice as he watched his high school friend try to put on a brave face.

¨Go, Clark. I´ll be fine, ¨she smiled, pushing him gently away. ¨You can do more out there than all those people put together. ¨

¨Are you sure... ? ¨he asked her with concern.

¨Yes. I´m fine. Go, please. And Clark? ¨she said, stopping him with a hand on his sleeve, ¨thanks for the flight. ¨

¨You´re welcome, ¨he answered, flashing her the 100-watt smile which used to weaken her knees when she was a teenager.

Once Clark was out of sight, Chloe let out a strangled sob and wiped away the tears with the back of her hand. She told herself she had to pull herself together and approach the airline staff for news like any other citizen. It was at that moment, when she started to make her way through the throngs crowding the waiting room, that Chloe was pinned by a pair of steel blue-grey eyes.

¨Mr Luthor, ¨said a representative of Southern Airlines, ¨will you come this way, please? ¨

¨Excuse me! ¨shouted Chloe, rushing after Lex and the airline´s employee, only to be stopped by one of the CEO´s bodyguards. Hey! ¨she hissed, ¨let me go. ¨

¨Mr Luthor´s not granting interviews, miss, ¨said the security man.

¨And who´s told you I want an interview? ¨glared Chloe.

¨You´re from the Metropolis Herald, aren´t you? I saw you at the ball, ¨he told her, grabbing her by the arm.

¨Yes, I´m a reporter, but that´s not the reason I´m here, ¨she responded grimly.

¨Release her, ¨ordered Lex coldly, boring his eyes into Chloe.

¨I didn´t know you´d be here in Washington today, ¨she told the billionaire, wondering if Chance had lied to her saying he was acting as Lex´s emissary to raise support or if the Luthor heir was there because his campaign advisor was amongst the presumed dead.

¨Neither did I, ¨he said with a look in his eyes which Chloe couldn´t quite decipher.

¨Mr Luthor. I´m sorry, sir, but they´re waiting for you, ¨insisted the airline representative.

¨Lex, was Chance on the plane? ¨she asked before they could whisk him away.

¨Mr Kelley? ¨frowned the Metropolis billionaire. ¨I didn´t know you two were on a first name basis. ¨

¨We´ve been going out steady for a year, ¨she responded honestly, not caring for Chance´s request to keep it a secret any more.

¨Mr Kelley and you? ¨asked Lex, trying to hide his surprise behind his trademark poker face.

¨Did you know he was my boyfriend? Is Chance the reason you´re here? ¨she probed, getting impatient when she couldn´t tell what was going on behind Lex´s cool façade.

¨Lana´s the reason I´m here, Miss Sullivan, ¨he responded without a trace of emotion in his words, and Chloe felt a shiver course up her spine.

¨Lana? ¨she croaked, thinking of Clark, who was at the scene, probably ripping the twisted metal to get to the victims. ¨Have you... have you... asked to see the list of passengers? Maybe we´re here for nothing... maybe this is just a mistake... ¨she babbled. ¨I need to see that list, ¨she told the airline representative.

¨The list´ll be read and displayed soon, miss. ¨

¨I´m not a second-rate citizen! ¨she exploded. ¨I´ve got as much right as Mr Luthor here to have access to that information. ¨

¨Chloe, calm down, ¨said Lex, grabbing one of her arms gently.

¨Calm down? I just need to see a name on a damn list. That´s all I´m asking. Is there a Chance Kelley on the flight? ¨she asked the airline employee.

¨I don´t see a Kelley, miss, ¨responded the airline man, scanning the list.

¨How about a Warden? Try Chance Warden, ¨suggested Chloe, hoping Lois´ suspicions about him were unfounded.

¨Warden? ¨ he repeated, looking at the blonde reporter.

¨ That´s his mother´s surname, ¨she said seriously, and Lex clenched his fists in the pockets of his Armani overcoat.

¨There´s a Mr and Mrs Warden. 37 and 38 B, ¨said the official as her tears welled up and she raised her eyes to meet Lex´s stormy blue-grey orbs.

¨Take me to my wife, Mr Ferguson, ¨he told the airline representative with such control in his manners and demeanour that if Chloe hadn´t overheard him and Lana argue in that corridor, she´d have thought him incapable of loving or feeling for another human being.

Chloe felt the tears staring to roll down her cheeks as Lex shot her a meaningful glance out of the other man´s sight. Lana´s real name wasn´t on that list either.

LEX´S SUITE AT PARK HYATT WASHINGTON

As the front-runner in the Senate campaign for Kansas, Lex attracted an inordinate amount of media coverage and paparazzi stalking even for a man who had always been used to finding himself in the public eye. His wife´s passing was front page news and the real circumstances of her death- were they to be discovered by the over-zealous reporters who hovered around him like vultures- would not only make him a laughing-stock, a question he didn´t give much thought to, but would affect his children in ways he daren´t fathom yet.

Before jumping on the jet that had taken him to DC, the young CEO had checked on Alex´s sleeping form and decided it´d be better to take Lilly on the trip and leave his son with Miriam for a few hours. Lex had been torn, but Alex was old enough to figure out something was wrong, and it would have been harder for Lex to shelter the boy from what had happened to Lana once they landed in Washington. The billionaire didn´t want Alex to go through the same experience he had had as a child- learning of one´s mum´s death through the media or worse, with a microphone on one´s face, was something he didn´t want for his son.

Therefore, Miriam was told that Lex would be absent for a few hours and got precise orders not to wake up the boy early to get ready for kindergarten. Lex wanted him to stay at home away from the press. Leaving Lillian, however, was out of the question. No matter how much Lex respected Miriam, he was Lilly´s dad and the one whose care the baby was used to.

The whole procedure at the airport had been an exhausting and nerve-wracking ordeal. To outward appearances Lex had been his usual composed and cold self, but seeing Lana´s mangled body on the monitor had been a hard pill to swallow. Hers hadn´t been the first corpse he´d seen, but the bitterness he carried deep inside couldn´t erase the fact that he´d once loved her and that she´d been the woman who had made a father of him. Granted, Lana wasn´t the one he would have chosen to bear his babies now, but he´d never regret having Alex and Lilly in his life.

The clock struck three when the baby girl woke up from her nap and Lex finished preparing the bottle in the Presidential Suite kitchenette. Although he´d have preferred to fly back home immediately after identifying the corpse as his wife´s, there were a couple of things to take care of- namely, the name that appeared on the passengers´ list and the story to go with it; and that posed a problem more difficult than the one he had foreseen. Even though the identity of the man with whom Lana had eloped hadn´t come as a surprise to him- her lover´s name had been revealed to the tycoon the night of the ball- what had been completely unexpected was the bomb that Chloe had dropped on his lap.

Lex prided himself on his thoroughness when it came to knowing his employees´ lives inside out. He didn´t like surprises, but Kelley or, rather, Chloe- for she certainly was the smartest of the couple- had managed to fool him, and he admired her for that. He´d been too absorbed by his family drama, and his usually all-perceiving radar had failed him abysmally.

Meeting Chloe at the Red Cross Annual Ball had made him realise how much he missed their old sessions of verbal judo, and a sixth sense had told him she was onto something. His business had been under her scrutiny many a time not to notice that particular glint in her eyes, and he´d felt more than willing to spar with her again. She was a challenge and Lex Luthor lived and breathed for them. However, their second encounter had left a different taste in his mouth when he had been forced to face the fact that their confrontation would be a lot more than just business- a realisation which made him restless.

The billionaire had always felt in control when he was Lex Luthor the tycoon, the evil schemer, the business shark, but life and relationships beyond his entrepreneur persona made him feel weak and ill-equipped- a sensation he didn´t relish at all. Coming in contact with Chloe again reminded him of the man he could have been- a man that he tried to be when he was around his children- but, most of all, it reminded him of how fragile he still was behind the mask. Eleven years ago he had almost let that protective armour slip when protecting her from his own dad. A decade had elapsed, but Chloe Sullivan could still be his downfall in more ways than one.


	7. On the Same Boat Part 2

**CHAPTER 6:** On the Same Boat (PART 2)

JAVA´S- DOWNTOWN WASHINGTON

Chloe was sitting in a booth with a jumbo cup of mocha and a half-eaten piece of lemon pie. Her body craved a caffeine-boost after the events of the morning, but her stomach rebelled against the sweet on the plate in front of her. In fact, the dessert had been Clark´s idea and she hadn´t had the heart to go against his mother goose´s routine.

Chloe eyed him discreetly as he sipped his own coffee, and she knew he was having a hard time digesting what had happened to Lana. Fortunately, it hadn´t been him to find and remove her corpse from the twisted metal for that would have made things even worse for all parties involved. In all probability, Clark would never arrive at the conclusion that Lana and Chance had been sitting side by side on the plane because of some sordid affair. He wouldn´t be the Clark she knew and loved if he had, bless his soul.

Still, that certitude didn´t give Chloe much comfort. She had been made a fool and had been betrayed once again by someone she cared for with none other than Lana Lang, the girl in whose shadow she had spent most of her life as a teenager and a young adult. Chance might not have been the love of Chloe´s life- Lois had been right, their romantic relationship had been lukewarm- but that didn´t make his treason excusable or her hurt more bearable.

¨Chlo´, ¨said Clark, seeing her play with the food on her plate, ¨I know this may sound cold but... what are you going to do about ... Chance´s funeral arrangements? I remember you told me ... both his parents are dead. Do you know if he left anything written in case something happened to him? ¨

¨I... don't know, ¨responded Chloe, massaging her temples in an attempt to relieve the tension which was threatening to make her head explode. ¨I guess... he´d have liked to lie next to his parents... in Metropolis. We really didn´t talk much about... death, ¨she swallowed hard.

¨I can help you with the arrangements if you want, ¨he offered, giving her hand a comforting squeeze.

¨Thanks, ¨she whispered as tears welled up in her eyes.

¨Hey!¨ he tilted up her chin. ¨You aren´t alone, Chloe. You´ll always have Lois and me. ¨

Chloe looked into her best friend´s baby-blue eyes and felt her lips start to tremble, announcing the tears were near the surface. Clark saw the fight the young reporter was putting up to keep herself collected, and his heart went out to her.

¨It´s all right, Chloe, ¨he murmured, slipping next to her on the seat.

Chloe wanted to tell him things weren´t all right, and that she doubted they´d be for a while. In fact, she couldn´t help but envy the farmboy because of his faith and his eternal optimism. Despite his tendency to judge the world around him in black and white- a view instilled by his adoptive father- he always tried to see everything through rose-tinted spectacles. Unlike the young Kent, Lex and Chloe were deeply aware of the true nature of man; they had both been hurt too many times to delude themselves any more. The world was a realm of greys to them, and notwithstanding her moral convictions and her hunger to expose the evil of man, she knew in her heart of hearts that the one person who could truly understand what she was going through wasn´t the innocent tender-hearted boy sitting next to her in the coffee shop. The man whose questionable moral choices had affected the lives of so many people she cared for and of others she hardly knew; the powerful CEO who looked over his kingdom from his crystal and metal tower in LuthorCorp Plaza, was the one person to whom she felt connected now, and that realisation made her shiver.

¨You´re cold, ¨said Clark with concern in his voice, taking his jacket and putting it on her shoulders- a protective gesture which made more tears well up in her eyes.

Chloe let her best friend embrace her, and a sudden feeling of envy overtook her. Envy of her cousin and what they had found in each other. She knew envy was unhealthy; it could be as dangerous as jealousy- a feeling that had driven her to a deadly trap when she was but a teenager. It wasn´t that she coveted Lois´ husband- her romantic feelings towards Clark had died many years ago, so many that sometimes she wondered if it had really been love or just an adolescent crush. No, what she envied was that connection Lois and Clark had, that something she had only experienced for a very brief spell with a man she had thought no longer existed, but whom she had found again in a corridor not so long ago.

¨Let me take you home, Chlo´,¨ murmured Clark soothingly, and the blonde reporter complied, too tired to put up a fight.


	8. Things aren t Always What they Seem

**CHAPTER 7:** Things aren´t Always What they Seem

A week had gone by since the funeral when Chloe plucked up the courage to pick up the box with Chance´s personal belongings, which the airline had delivered at her door. In fact, she had signed the package and put it away unopened, unwilling to go though the stuff just then.

It was ten o´clock and her leave of absence was coming to an end. She had already finished the house chores and poured herself a cup of freshly-made coffee when she decided it was high time she had a look at the contents of the box. Although she had always enjoyed digging up dirt to write her exposés, this was different because it hit too close to home.

Chloe stood in front of the wardrobe for five minutes solid, sipping her hot java and gripping the mug tightly to warm up her suddenly freezing hands. Then, she set down the empty cup on the dresser and, taking a deep breath, swung both doors open- the accusing package was lying at the bottom, partially covered by her long winter overcoat and the dresses she rarely wore.

¨Well, it´s now or never, Chloe,¨ murmured the blonde reporter as she bent down and retrieved the box.

The package weighed very little for most of Chance´s belongings had ended up in the ocean or got burnt with the rest of the passengers´. Still, it felt like a ticking bomb to Chloe, whose heart was hammering in her chest as she sat on her bed holding the box in her shaky hands.

_´Come on, Sullivan. Remove the tape and take a peek inside. I bet you´ll find some boxers and a pair of socks. Or did he use briefs? Well... whatever! You shouldn´t stall this. Could it feel worse than it already does? Maybe. But you know you want to learn the truth. So... go ahead and do it! OK, here we go... ¨_she mused as she finally cut the sticky tape with the aid of a pair of scissors.

There wasn´t much inside, except his passport, a wallet with his credit cards and a hundred dollars in small notes, some toiletries, a bunch of keys and... his daily planner. Chloe grabbed the diary and put the rest back in the box, dreading what she might discover once she browsed the notes in Chance´s neat handwriting.

Her eyes scanned the brief scribblings as she turned the pages one by one. Most of the entries were connected with his work on Lex´s campaign- interviews, photo shoots, fundraisers, press conferences; nothing out of the ordinary. In fact, it wasn´t until she reached the month of December that her breath became more laboured when an initial started appearing with frequency and she realised Lois had been right all along. Every single word that had come out of Chance´s mouth had been a lie. ´L´ could have stood for Lex, but she was no longer going to make excuses for her late boyfriend. Every night he had stood her up or called off their plans the last three months, while she had thought he was working on Lex´s campaign to the Senate, he had been actually cheating on her with the wife of Metropolis most influential tycoon.

Chloe felt the teardrops roll down her cheeks and cursed her stupidity once again. It seemed she had been born to fall for the wrong guys. First, there had been Clark when she moved from Metropolis to Smallville; then Lex, that fateful summer when she had almost died in the hands of Lionel Luthor; and, before Chance, Jimmy Olsen- the now star photographer of The Daily Planet. All of them had broken her heart one way or another. She was still friends with Clark and Jimmy... Chance? Well, he was dead. As to Lex... She had hated him at the end of that summer, almost as much as she had grown to love him during her exile. Chance had asked her if there had ever been anything between them, and she had told him ´No´ because it was the truth- the qualified truth, that is. There had been feelings, of that she was sure.

She could still remember that evening when they almost had let themselves be driven by that sexual tension which had always sparkled between them and felt tempted to cross the flimsy line between friendship and that something else she had yet to find again and which he had thought he could have with Lana. That evening Chloe had read in his eyes something which he never allowed anyone to see- that desperate hunger to be loved, to be worthy of someone´s affection. And it was precisely that naked need which made them so similar, that need to be wanted, to be deserving. Both had lost their mothers at an early age and had courted danger as a means of escape or self-punishment. Unlike the orphan Lana, who had sought retribution by arousing pity in others with her attitude of eternal martyrdom, Lex had resorted to drugs, loose women and fast cars while Chloe had put her safety on the line by stirring up a hornet´s nest with her investigative exploits for The Torch.

Eleven years had gone by and things hadn´t really changed. He no longer did drugs or engaged in one-night stands, but he was continuously courting disaster with his illegal and morally dubious business deals. Meanwhile, Chloe kept collecting enemies and death-threats with her exposés, and felt as miserable as that summer in which Lex had done the honourable thing and chosen to salvage what was left of his friendship with Clark by refusing the gift of her innocence. His decision had been futile because not only had Clark turned his back on him, Lex had hurt Chloe more than he´d ever know. The blonde girl had loved him, and he had interpreted her ardour as pity. Chloe had tried to convince him amidst tears that he was what she wanted, but he had turned her down and given her the cold shoulder once she came back to Smallville.

It was no use crying over spilt milk, Chloe told herself. It had taken her a long time to accept Lex didn´t want her in his life and a cold head to realise that, despite his efforts to the contrary, he was a Luthor and, as such, he was not only given to secrets and lies but he was also emotionally crippled. It wasn´t that Lex couldn´t feel; he denied his feelings because it was the only way he knew to preserve what Lionel had fought so hard to destroy. In retrospect Chloe could understand his decision to cut all strings with her; she made him weak and was a stone on his road to greatness.

Lex was a man of amazing contradictions- capable of the greatest good and the utmost evil- but what he didn´t realise was that by turning down the opportunities life offered him to be happy, he hastened his journey to become what he had always feared- his own father. Now, the question was what part of his nature would emerge victorious.

Eight days after Lana´s burial Lex returned to his offices at LuthorCorp Plaza for the first time. Although he had been keeping tabs on the corporation´s multifarious investments and overseen the projects under way from the penthouse, he knew he couldn´t stay away from the headquarters of the empire that his father had built and he himself had expanded with his visionary endeavours.

A week had been more than enough for the architect and his team to transform the room next to his private office into a nursery and playroom for the children. Money could buy the best furniture and toys just as it could secure the services of the most professional of nannies in the world, but Lex had promised himself his kids wouldn´t be raised by a stranger or be emotionally hurt by those in charge of their care like he had been. Even though he was scared witless of not being able to give his babies what they needed from the emotional point of view, he knew he loved them and was committed to show them how much – not by lavishing them with expensive gifts or submitting them to twisted tests, but by being there for them every step of the way.

As CEO of one of America´s largest corporations, Lex was aware that being 24-7 with his offspring was impracticable. Still, the fact that the school holidays had just begun gave him the opportunity to have both children around, particularly now when Alex needed him the most. The young tycoon wanted to make sure the boy didn´t feel neglected because of the hours of exclusive attention Lilly demanded of his dad.

Therefore, in order to be able both to keep a close eye on them and to see to his business, he arranged for their nanny to present herself at LuthorCorp Plaza at eight thirty every morning. In that way, he was certain they weren´t unattended and, at the same time, he could be available for Lilly´s feeding time and even devote a few precious moments to bond with his first-born amidst his hectic agenda.

It was close to eleven o´clock on a Friday morning and Lex was working on the platinum cufflinks with two intertwined Ls to fasten the new light-blue dress shirt he had taken from the bottom drawer of his desk- the one he had donned earlier got ruined while feeding the baby- when the intercom buzzed.

¨Yes, Jennifer, ¨said Lex, pressing the speaker´s button.

¨Mr Luthor, there´s a Miss Sullivan to see you. She´s got no previous appointment, but she insists you´ll receive her, ¨answered his assistant of a month.

¨Tell her I´ll see her in ten minutes, Jennifer. Get her a strong cup of coffee with two sugars to keep her entertained, ¨he smirked, cutting off the call.

He had expected Chloe to turn up at his office sooner or later. The question was in what capacity she had decided to walk into the lion´s den.

¨Luthor, ¨snapped the billionaire, opening the scrambled mobile phone when he read the caller ID on the display. ¨Any news? ¨

¨We´ve found him, sir, ¨said the man on the other side of the line.

¨It was high time, Mr Johansen, ¨responded Lex gravely as he clenched his fist in the pocket of his trousers. ¨I want satisfaction. You know what to do. ¨

¨I´m on it, sir, ¨replied the caller sobered.

¨You´ll get the bonds as soon as I have proof the job´s done, ¨stated Lex as he put on his jacket.

¨You´ll get news before the day´s over, ¨promised the man he had hired a couple of months before.

¨I hope so. I´ve waited too long for this. I´ll wait for your call, ¨finished Lex, flipping the mobile shut and stashing it away in the top drawer of his desk under lock and key. ¨Come in, ¨said he when there was a knock at the door.

¨Miss Sullivan, sir, ¨announced Jennifer, ushering a very professional-looking Chloe into Lex´s private office.

¨Bring us a carafe of freshly-made coffee and two cups, ¨ordered Lex to his assistant.

¨Yes, sir, ¨bowed the middle-aged woman from the doorway.

¨And Jennifer? ¨he added before she left. ¨Get us something from ´Le Patisserie´, please. ¨

¨There´s no need, Lex. I´ve already had breakfast, ¨interrupted Chloe.

¨After three hours of browsing dossiers and answering conference calls, I feel like something sweet, ¨he smiled, making the blonde reporter wonder whether he was referring to the piece of pie he intended to eat or if he was trying to make her feel at ease with the flirty bantering they used to share back in Smallville when she was but a green schoolgirl and he was fighting not to step in his father´s shoes.

¨I´ll leave the choice in your more than capable hands, Jennifer. You´re excused now, ¨he added, gesturing Chloe to take a seat while he resumed his place behind the desk. ¨Well, Miss Sullivan, ¨he cocked an eyebrow, ¨what has brought you to my doorstep? ¨

Chloe saw Lex´s smug look on his face and wondered for the umpteenth time whether she had taken the right decision coming to his office like this. The Lex Luthor she had known in Smallville had almost limitless resources at his disposal, but he still had scruples, and she wasn´t sure how he´d react now when he found out what she had discovered.

¨So? ¨insisted Lex, seeing the blonde reporter hesitate for a second. ¨Don´t tell me you´ve come all the way to the lion´s den to chicken out all of a sudden. I remember I promised you an interview, ¨he smirked.

¨I´m not here to see the next senator for Kansas, Lex, ¨she responded, opening the holdall and taking out a dossier she pushed towards him across the desk.

Lex picked up the folder and leafed through its contents, schooling his features as his eyes scanned the information she had managed to gather. The young woman would never cease to amaze him; she always succeeded at discovering the best well-kept secrets, including the one Clark had never wanted to share with him.

¨Where did you get this? ¨he asked tersely, closing the dossier and slipping it back to her.

¨You know me better than that, Lex. I´d never reveal my sources. They have the constitutional right to be protected. Besides, there´s always the risk of having their testimony miraculously vanish. No, I know who I´m dealing with. ¨

¨Do you? ¨he asked with the ghost of a smile. ¨And what makes you think what you´ve got is the truth? ¨

¨The information I´ve managed to collect speaks for itself.¨

¨Do you believe me capable of this monstrosity, Chloe? ¨he responded.

¨I still want to believe the man I used to know is there somehow but, so far, you have to agree your record of morally questionable deeds doesn´t speak too much in your favour, ¨ she told him, looking him straight in the eye.

¨I truly admire you, Chloe. It takes guts to come to me with this kind of accusations... particularly, given my reputation for making encumbrances disappear, ¨he smiled wryly.

¨I´m not afraid of you, Lex, ¨ she said calmly.

¨Oh, yes, I forgot. You´ve got the hero in blue spandex to protect you, ¨he laughed, getting up and walking to the bar to get a bottle of Tŷ Nant.

¨He´s got better things to do than be my bodyguard, Lex. ¨

¨There was a time when you would have given the world to have him as your personal protector, ¨ he said, taking a swing at the bottle.

¨I´m not here to talk about him. ¨

¨Right, you´re here to fill in the shoes of the salt-of-the-earth farmboy and his righteous old dad. They were always ready to think the worst of me.¨

¨That´s not true... ¨

¨Isn´t it? ¨

¨Clark... ¨

¨I´m done defending myself for things I haven´t even done, Chloe. You´re free to believe whatever you want, but if you print this... ¨he said threateningly, picking up the folder she had brought with her.

¨The proofs appear to be over-whelming, but there´s something that keeps bugging me, ¨she cut him off, unfolding a piece of paper she had left out of the dossier, leaving it on top of his desk.

¨Nothing stops you, does it? ¨he asked, perusing the document.

¨I could say the same thing about you, Lex, ¨she responded with the ghost of a smile. ¨Until the night of the ball I was ready to print my exposé but then, my investigator got me this and I started questioning everything I had found out... ¨

¨These were supposed to be private, ¨he fumed, seeing Lana´s name on the list of patients.

¨I knew Lana, Lex, but I´m not blind. You´d have never let her take Minervit during her pregnancy if you´d known the side effects. You were both lucky not to have lost your child, but many weren´t that fortunate, and they deserve justice. ¨

¨They´ll get justice, Chloe, ¨he said in a tone of voice which made her feel a shiver run down her spine.

¨Does that mean what I think it means? ¨Chloe managed to say.

¨You only need to know all those parents´ll get retribution for what´s happened to them. ¨

¨Do you know where Dr Jameson and his team of runaway scientists are? ¨she prodded.

¨They´re some place where they won´t be able to hurt anybody else, ¨he responded coldly as he downed the water which remained in the small blue bottle.

¨You mean dead? ¨stated Chloe matter-of-factly.

¨You´re trying to put words in my mouth, Miss Sullivan. I´m not my father. ¨

¨Over a week ago I´d have begged to differ, but maybe Clark´s wrong. Maybe you´re not completely lost after all... I´d have done the same for my baby. ¨

Lex bored his stormy blue-eyes into her and saw something stir in them he´d never thought anyone would show to him- not pity but sympathy. The revelation prompted him to put his defences up once again- he wasn´t going to let Chloe Sullivan make him feel weak. He was done stripping his armour in front of people who had the power to hurt him, and the blonde spitfire- in spite of all the years that had gone by- could still rattle him.

¨Daddy, ¨said a childish voice, peeking through the door leading to the adjoining room.

¨What´s wrong, Alex? ¨asked Lex warmly, crouching in front of his son.

¨It´s Lilly, ¨murmured the boy, looking at Chloe over his father´s shoulder.

¨Where´s Mrs Roberts? ¨Chloe heard the billionaire ask and noticed he was tense but trying to remain calm for Alex´s sake.

¨She´s gone to the toilet. I told her it was fine... that I could watch over the baby but... she´s crying and I don´t know what to do... ¨explained the red-haired boy with intense blue-grey eyes which were a replica of his dad´s.

¨We´re done here, Lex, ¨said Chloe calmly as the man straightened up.

¨What are you going to do about what we´ve been talking? ¨was his calm reply.

¨Go. See to the child, Lex. The story as it was written is unprintable. I´ll wait for the press conference no doubt you´ll give tomorrow morning before putting the final touches to the new article. I wouldn´t like to be sued for libel, would I? ¨she told him, picking up her stuff and making her way to the door.

¨Chloe? ¨ Lex called her back. ¨Why did you bluff at the beginning of our conversation? ¨

¨It felt nice to be the one holding the cards for a change. It was odd to be the one being threatened, wasn´t it? ¨

¨We´re even, then, ¨he smirked, walking through the side door and shutting it firmly behind him.


	9. Confused

**CHAPTER 8**: Confused

THE KENTS´- METROPOLIS SUBURBS

Just as Chloe had predicted, LuthorCorp called a press conference the morning after her meeting with its CEO. Lex Luthor´s patrician face appeared next to Metropolis´ ambitious DA on the news programmes of every major channel across the country, announcing the arrest and prosecution of the evaded team of scientists that had worked on the Minervit Project at Cadmus Labs, a subsidiary of LuthorCorp.

¨Typical, ¨ hissed Clark. ¨I wonder what he´s got on the DA to get him to stand by him on that podium and lie to us through his teeth. ¨

¨He´s not lying this time, Clark, ¨Chloe butted in as she poured herself another cup of coffee.

¨What´s made you change your mind? Not so long ago you were ready to crucify him on the front page, Chloe, ¨Clark glared at her. ¨He´s a monster with a cunning mind just like his dad´s. He´s a consummate liar, for God´s sake! ¨

Chloe looked at her friend over the brim of her mug and thought how much he resembled his adoptive father. Sometimes she wondered how things would have turned out for Lex if the Kent men had made a bigger effort to accept him. Lionel Luthor had been a bad seed, but maybe Clark had given up on his former friend too soon.

¨Clark, I agree Lex has done his fair share of questionable deeds- but I can assure you he didn´ t know about this vitamin complex affair until it was too late. ¨

¨I don´t know what lies he´s told you, but... ,¨ he started outraged.

¨Lana was taking them, ¨she cut him off.

¨What? ¨he asked with a puzzled frown.

¨Her gynaecologist was the same as Sylvia´s. Three-quarters of the patients that were taking Minervit were his, and he had a pharmacist give them the prescriptions of the drug that was yet to be approved by the FDA. They were guinea pigs and we both know, Clark, that Lex would have never risked losing Lana or their child. He was a victim just as all those other parents- worse still, he was fooled by his own employees. ¨

¨Are you sure Lana was taking those pills? ¨asked Clark unconvinced.

¨Yes, Clark. And, before you ask, Lex didn´t give me that information; I found it on my own. ¨

¨How come all the babies except Luthor´s died or were born with birth defects? ¨

¨Clark... ¨

¨Do you know the gynaecologist's name, Chloe? ¨asked Lois as she walked into the living room with a plate of suspiciously-looking waffles.

¨Trying out a new recipe, Lois? ¨Chloe cocked an eyebrow as she eyed the misshaped and half-burnt dough on the dish. ¨Dr Emerson´s his name. Why? ¨

¨Emerson? Are you sure? ¨responded Lois, setting the food down on the table.

¨Of course I´m sure. I´ve seen his name dozens of times during my research. ¨

¨Well, the late Dr Emerson was found in Chicago this morning... with a bullet between his eyes. They say he resisted a robbery, but knowing Luthor, I bet he had him killed, ¨responded Lois, pouring maple syrup over her over-cooked waffle.

¨A bullet in his head, you said? ¨responded Chloe as her cousin tried to cut the food in front of her and ended up chasing it around the plate.

¨Yeah. Damn! ¨exclaimed Lois exasperated. ¨I think I´ll have some toast, ¨she added, leaving the table to throw away her culinary efforts. ¨ Are you talking about my cooking? ¨ she asked when she heard Chloe murmur something with an odd look on her face.

¨I said you´ve fried the toaster, remember? ¨laughed the blonde reporter, shooting a sidelong glance at Clark who had most certainly overheard what she had actually said.

¨Right, ¨Lois sighed in defeat. ¨You´ll have to make do with cereals and orange juice, Smallville, ¨she added, walking back into the kitchen.

¨Chloe, a leopard can´t change its spots, no matter how much you´d like to believe it. I know Lex and his ways. He can charm you in the wink of an eye and, when you wake up it´s too late to get out of his web. ¨

¨Clark, it irks me that you could think so little of me. You seem to forget I´ve experienced the Luthor charm in the flesh, ¨she fumed through clenched teeth.

¨I´m just worried about you getting hurt again. I saw what he did to you that summer, ¨he continued, squeezing her hand.

¨He did nothing to me, Clark. ¨

¨Didn´t he? That wasn´t the impression I got when you came back to Smallville after Lionel´s trial. I´ve always wondered... ¨

¨Well, stop wondering. Nothing happened. ¨

¨Is he the reason you´ve never been able to have a truly meaningful relationship... ? ¨

¨Clark, what gives you the right to judge me? ¨she choked with tears in her eyes, scraping the chair as she got up.

¨Chloe, don´t get mad! I´m your friend. I want what´s best for you. ¨

¨Well, then, stop meddling in my affairs, Clark. ¨

¨I simply wouldn´t like you to end up miserable like Lana. Lex doesn´t know how to love- least of all how to make anyone happy. ¨

¨Lana? ¨she asked half crying half laughing. ¨Oh, yes. Sweet perfect Lana, the Fair Princess who was kidnapped by the evil-hearted nobleman on his black stallion; the poor victim robbed of her innocence and tainted by the devil´s spawn. You never saw the true Lana, Clark. You always had her up on a pedestal, but she had clay feet like any mortal and, believe me, you wouldn´t defend her so much if you knew half the things I know about her. As to Lex... I´m not naïve; he´ll never be a regular knight in shining armour, but what you´ve just said about him shows you´ve never really known him. ¨

¨Is everything all right? ¨ frowned Lois, entering the dining room with a box of cornflakes and a jug of juice.

¨He´s dangerous, Chloe, ¨said Clark tensely.

¨I´m a big girl, Clark. I don´t need Superman to save me, ¨responded the blonde reporter with glassy eyes, picking up her coat and handbag.

¨Hey!¨exclaimed Lois. ¨Will anyone fill me in, please? What´s happened? ¨ she frowned, setting down the cereal and the juice on the table and stretching out an arm to stop Chloe on her way out. ¨Wait, Chlo´. Aren´t you going to have breakfast with us? ¨

¨I´ve suddenly lost my appetite. I´m sorry, Lo´. I´ll phone you tomorrow. Maybe we can go out, do some window shopping and have a cup of coffee, ¨ answered Chloe, trying to give her cousin a Sullivan smile but failing abysmally.

¨Wait! ¨insisted Clark´s wife as Chloe opened the door and rushed to her red Beetle.

¨Let her go, ¨said Martha Kent´s son.

¨What have you done to make her cry, Smallville? ¨ she shouted accusingly.

¨I´ve just told her the truth. ¨

¨About what? ¨

¨Lex. ¨

¨Lex as in Lex Luthor, formerly playboy billionaire? ¨

¨Yes, the only Lex we know. ¨

¨I don´t know... What about _Lex Talionis_? ¨

¨Lois, I don´t feel like joking. ¨

¨Somehow I doubt Lex was the only thing that got discussed here. ¨

¨I never thought she felt so bitter towards Lana. ¨

¨Oh, my! Lana ´freaking´ Lang. No wonder my cousin went ballistic. ¨

¨Lois! ¨

¨Well, she was a ´bitch´ if you ask me. I really can´t understand what men saw in her- you included. At least you had the good sense not to marry her. ¨

¨What is it with you and Chloe? ¨exploded Clark. ¨Is this some fit of jealousy or what? ¨

¨Jealous? Jealous of Lana Lang? God forbid I envy a woman capable of abandoning her own babies and cuckolding her husband under his very nose. ¨

¨What? ¨he gasped.

¨Chloe hasn´t told you, I take it. Well... maybe she wanted to spare your feelings... I won´t. Since you´ve hurt my little cousin, I´ll tell you what´s what. Maybe you´ll cut her some slack next time and not be as judgemental as your old man used to be. ¨

Chloe drove aimlessly for half an hour, replaying what had been said in Clark´s dining room. She still couldn´t believe how she had got carried away and let the venom she felt for Lex´s late wife pour out of her mouth. Although she had promised herself she would never mention the brunette in front of Clark after the accident, she hadn´t been able to rein in her feelings when she heard the former Prom Queen´s name on Clark´s lips. However, what was actually troubling Chloe was the fact that she couldn´t be certain her reaction would have been the same if her high school crush hadn´t brought up Lex´s alleged incapacity to love in the same sentence.

By ten o´clock in the morning Gabe Sullivan´s only daughter was starting to experience the nerves characteristic of a caffeine-deprived addict and found herself parking in front of Lex´s pretentious block of flats. She killed the engine and tapped the steering-wheel with shaky fingers_. ´What are you doing, Sullivan? It´s Saturday morning. You can´t use the excuse of an interview to seek him out at his home, for God´s sake! Well, you still have it with you, don´t you? It´s there in the glove compartment. Just stretch out your arm, open the damn lock and take it. There´s your excuse. He doesn´t need to know what´s really brought you here, does he? ¨ _

Lex was getting Lilly´s bottle ready when the intercom buzzed and the porter announced Chloe´s presence in the lobby. The billionaire remembered a time when the blonde reporter used to turn up at his doorstep at least once a week, always in the shadow of her impossible teenage love. The 

doors of the mansion had been permanently open to Clark and his friends, and she had been one of them. For years Chloe had been nothing but his best friend´s sidekick, and Lex had enjoyed their energising bantering sessions over a cup of coffee first at The Beanery, then at The Talon- verbal judo, he used to call them.

It wasn´t until that fateful summer, when her broken heart had led her straight into Lionel´s deadly trap, that Lex had allowed himself to see her as something other than Clark´s snarky friend. For the first time in his twenty-four years he had found someone who was willing to sacrifice everything for him without asking for anything in return.

He had grabbed what she´d offered him because he was used to taking everything he wanted- he had been raised that way. However, he found out he still had scruples one special evening- an evening deeply-imprinted in Lex´s mind. It was the day Lionel´s sentence was passed, and Lex drove to the Sullivans´ safe house to tell Chloe everything was over. He broke down in front of her, and she offered him the only thing she had left, and he just couldn´t take it.

Lex knew in his heart of hearts he had fallen in love with Chloe that summer. He had fought the feeling, telling himself Clark was the only man she´d ever love. If Lex had been selfish enough to take what she had offered him out of pity, he would have only succeeded in robbing her of everything without getting what he really wanted- someone who could love him.

In retrospect, the billionaire asked himself why he hadn´t had the same scruples when it came to Lana. He loathed admitting it, but he had known from day one it would be a question of time before Nell´s niece showed the darkness that resided behind the princess´ façade. It was precisely what Lana was that Chloe would never be that had prodded him to pursue the brunette and tie her to him. While he´d never feel worthy of someone as principled as Gabe Sullivan´s beloved daughter, he saw his own darkness reflected in Lana- a pitch black he could never allow to taint someone as selfless as Chloe.

¨Let her in, ¨Lex told the porter, wondering for the second time in twenty-four hours what Chloe Sullivan would cross his door.


	10. Epilogue

**EPILOGUE**

Chloe rode up to the top floor of Lex´s building with her stomach tied up in knots. On more than one occasion she felt tempted to press the stop button and get out of the lift, but the need to see Lex in an environment which wasn´t the cold chrome business atmosphere of his office or the artificial surroundings of a political rally egged her on. She just wanted further proof that what she had glimpsed that night at the ball and the previous day at his own office hadn´t been just a figment of her imagination, a concoction to justify her behaviour of an hour ago, when she had argued with her best friend- the man who had once meant the world to her.

Her heart was hammering and her hands were gripping the strap of her handbag tightly when the private lift dinged and the doors opened on Lex´s floor.

¨Chloe, what an unexpected surprise! What brings you to my doorstep this time? ¨ smirked the billionaire.

¨I´ve watched the press conference. I´m glad you decided to turn them in, ¨ responded the reporter, stepping into the hall.

¨Let me assure you I was tempted not to, ¨said Lex sobered, holding Lilly´s bottle in his hand.

¨What´s important is that you didn´t, ¨she answered quietly, looking at his blanched knuckles.

¨Don´t get your hopes too high, Chloe. I´ll never be a saint like your friend in tights, but at least I´m not a hypocrite. I´ve killed people, Chloe. ¨

¨I told you yesterday I´d understand if you... ¨started Chloe.

¨If I had Dr Emerson killed, ¨Lex cut her off with a wry smile.

¨Did you? ¨she swallowed the lump in her throat.

¨In your heart you know the answer to that, ¨he responded gravely as the baby´s whimpering was heard from the other room. ¨Excuse me, ¨he added, coming into the living room where he had left the baby carrier.

¨May I? ¨she asked when her eyes fell on little Lillian.

¨You want to feed her? ¨responded Lex, observing the faintly-veiled emotion in Chloe´s hazel green orbs.

¨Would you let me? ¨she murmured.

¨Sit down on the sofa, Chloe. I´ll hand her to you, ¨he told her, unfastening the straps which were holding the baby safe.

In the meantime, Chloe divested herself of her jacket and set down the bag on the coffee table, leaving Chance´s daily planner where Lex could see it.

¨Take her head like this, ¨he explained to the blonde reporter as he laid his child in her arms. ¨Have you ever bottle-fed a baby? ¨

¨I promise I won´t drop her, Lex, ¨she smiled softly when she read the parental concern on his face.

¨I know you won´t, ¨he responded, boring his steely blue-grey eyes into hers. ¨Here´s the bottle. Make sure you keep it in this angle so that she doesn´t suck in air, ¨he added, lowering his gaze to see his daughter latch to the tit and suckle with enthusiasm.

¨Poor soul, you were hungry, weren´t you? ¨she murmured warmly. ¨You were right, Lex; she´s beautiful. ¨

¨Well, I´m biased, ¨he smiled, grazing the baby´s cheek with his hand.

¨How could someone want to abandon you? ¨Chloe choked as she focused her eyes on the innocent creature, feeling a sudden empathy with her. ¨Did you know my mum walked out on me and my dad, Lex? ¨

¨Chloe, ¨began the billionaire torn by the pain he saw reflected in her eyes.

¨How bad is it? ¨she cut him off, taking him by surprise.

¨How bad is what? ¨he repeated with a frown.

¨Lilly´s condition. How bad is it? ¨she answered, meeting his suddenly cold eyes. ¨Lex... ¨

¨Why are you here, Chloe? ¨he interrupted her, his body coiled up in tension. ¨What is it that you want? ¨he added bitterly.

¨If people knew you were a victim just like them, then... ¨

¨Then what, Chloe? They´d feel sympathy for me? I don´t want anyone´s pity, and I won´t let you or any ambitious journalist use my daughter to advance his career, ¨he snapped at her, taking care not to raise his voice for the baby and Alex´s sake.

¨Do you think I´d stoop so low? ¨asked Chloe with glassy eyes.

¨No, of course, not, ¨he sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. ¨I´m sorry, Chloe. This is a delicate issue. ¨

¨I understand, Lex. I´m sorry I´ve asked. It´s not my place... ¨

¨She´s deaf- compeltely deaf. Doctors say no surgery´ll correct her inborn defect, but I´ll never give up trying to find a cure. They wanted to kill her- Lana and Emerson. They´d even scheduled the abortion procedure without consulting me. ¨

¨I´m glad you stopped them in time. She´s lucky to have you as her dad, ¨she whispered, locking her eyes with the placid grey-blue orbs of Lex´s daughter.

¨I don´t know about that. I had one lousy role model. Who´s to say I won´t be as bad he was?¨

¨You won´t, ¨she said passionately.

¨I don´t deserve so much blind faith, Chloe. ¨

¨You love your children, Lex. ¨

¨Sometimes love´s not enough. I´ve got too much baggage, Chloe, and no matter how hard I´ve tried to fight it, I´m still a Luthor. ¨

¨We are who we choose to be, Lex. There´s no thing as predestination. ¨

¨Are you positive about that? ¨ he asked enigmatically as his eyes lowered to the coffee table.

¨Take it. It was Chance´s, ¨ she said calmly, cleaning Lillian´s mouth with the towel he had given her.

¨Why would I be interested in his daily planner? ¨he asked coldly, taking the baby from her arms to help Lilly burp.

¨I thought you might need it for closure. ¨

¨Closure? ¨

¨You might have paid for your wife´s real name to appear on that passenger list and concoct some story to explain the world why she was sitting next to your campaign´s PR representative, but we both know why they were together on that plane. I understand the need for a cover-up to protect your children when they grow up. Don´t dare deny it, Lex; you didn´t do this to salvage your reputation as a candidate to the Senate. Just don´t try to sell me the same lie. You know me better than that. Did you know they had an apartment for their secret rendez-vous? ¨

¨I´m not interested in the sordid details, Chloe, ¨he responded coldly. ¨Let me put her to bed. ¨

¨You knew it, didn´t you? It´s not in your nature to leave stones unturned, ¨she said as he came back to the living room.

¨Why are you doing this, Chloe? ¨he asked with concern in his voice.

¨Because I need to understand, ¨she sobbed, getting up of the sofa.

¨There´s nothing to understand. Take it from someone who´s always looking for answers. We can´t help what´s in our nature. ¨

¨That´s bullshit, Lex. That´s what you tell yourself not to accept the truth, because it hurts. Well, I´ve never hidden behind that excuse to turn down whatever chance to be happy life´s offered me. I can´t pretend not to feel anything... I need to understand ... ¨ she choked, ¨to find out what´s wrong with me. To understand why every man that´s ever meant something to me has ended up with Lana Lang, ¨she finished, the tears welling up in her eyes.

Lex looked at the beautiful woman in front of him and experienced a sudden clench in his gut. They seemed to have gone back in time; he could picture Chloe eleven years younger asking a very similar question. The pain her voice then had been the result of an adolescent crush turned awry, but what he heard now was the despair of a woman who thought she ´d never be loved.

¨I can´t ask Clark because he´d never want to hurt me. Chance... well, asking him is impracticable. That leaves only one person, ¨she wiped the tears off her face, ¨you, ¨she murmured softly.

Chloe´s words rattled him in a way he´d never thought possible. Could it be he had misread her all those years ago? Could it be for once in his life his feelings for someone hadn´t been unrequited?

¨Lex, say something, ¨she laughed amidst tears.

¨There´s nothing to say, ¨he answered collected, walking to the wet bar to pour himself a drink.

¨You´re the only one who´d tell me the truth without sugar-coating it, Lex. Why did you turn me down that summer? I know you felt something for me. Why did you throw it away and start pursuing Lana?¨

¨I can´t give you the answer you want, Chloe, ¨he responded, controlling the tremor in his voice behind a snifter.

¨What was it she had that I don´t? ¨she asked with anguish in her voice.

¨Don´t do this to yourself, Chloe. ¨

¨Tell me, ¨she insisted, grabbing him by the arm.

¨I´m not doing this, ¨he said through gritted teeth.

¨Lex, ¨she pleaded him.

¨Stop torturing yourself. Lana could never hold a candle to you. Chance and Clark were stupidly blind. ¨

¨Does that make you stupid as well? ¨she said with the ghost of a smile.

¨There´s nothing wrong with you, Chloe. I count myself lucky to have had you in my life all those years ago. As to my being stupid... it´s one way to see it. It wasn´t my intention to hurt you, Chloe, ¨he responded emotionally, placing both his hands on her shoulders- a gesture which reminded her of the morning she went to him and he promised to protect her from his dad. ¨I´m sorry. If I had known... ¨ he swallowed the lump in his throat.

¨Would you have acted differently if you had believed me instead of arriving at the conclusion I was just offering you consolation out of pity? ¨

¨Maybe not, ¨he confessed. ¨Everything I did was just to protect you. ¨

¨From whom? Your dad? ¨

¨You deserved better. You still do.¨

¨Deserving has nothing to do with it. Why did you marry Lana? If there was someone who knew what she was like, it had to be you. You were a worldly man and we were just a bunch of immature kids. ¨

¨I recognised myself in her. ¨

¨You chose her to be your wife out of a twisted need for punishment? ¨

¨There was a time I thought I loved her. I believed if someone could love me, it had to be her. ¨

¨For all your cockiness, you surely have one low self-esteem. You should stop this nonsense of being undeserving. Screw your dad!¨ exclaimed Chloe, thinking how ironic it was to be the one speaking to him about feeling insecure. ¨Lana Lang could have never loved anyone but herself, Lex. She was the most self-centred human being I have ever had the misfortune to meet. You, on the other hand... you´re a walking contradiction. Half the times I don´t know what to make of you. You´ve done many questionable deeds in your life, still... You used to be there when we needed you without expecting anything in return.¨

¨Don´t try to pass me as a selfless philanthropist, Chloe. ¨

¨I know you aren´t Mother Theresa, but you shouldn´t deny that part of you I know it still exists. ¨

¨You´re talking about a time in my life when I thought things could be different. A lot of water´s run under the bridge. ¨

¨You can be selfless, Lex. I´ve seen you with your kids, remember? ¨

¨Even monsters can be good to their children. ¨

¨That sounds like something Clark would say. Are you trying to scare me away, Lex? Because, if that´s the case, I´ve got news for you: I´m not giving up on you. ¨

¨What about Clark? ¨

¨Clark can sometimes be too much like his old dad. ¨

¨Do you understand the cost of being around me, Chloe? Are you ready to be looked down on or openly hated? Many people would stop talking to you. Your objectivity would be questioned. ¨

¨If people can´t see what I do... screw them. You´ll prove them wrong. ¨

¨You´re being naïve, Chloe, if you think I can change or that the world will suddenly approve of someone whose surname they´ve hated for decades. ¨

¨We aren´t our parents, Lex. The fact that my mum walked out on me doesn´t mean I´ll repeat the pattern with my own kids. Your father having abused you for kicks doesn´t mean you´ll be a parent like him with Alex and Lilly- you aren´t, and that proves there´s still goodness in you. Don´t turn down the chance to be happy. ¨

¨I don´t know what happiness means, Chloe. I wish I could learn for my children´s sake. They deserve much more than what they´ve had so far. ¨

¨Let me teach you then. Give our friendship another chance, Lex, before it´s too late. Regardless of what you or the world might think, you aren´t lost yet. ¨

¨It won´t be easy, Chloe. ¨

¨Nothing´s ever come easy in our lives, but I´m willing to try if you are. Friends? ¨

¨I hope I won´t regret this, ¨he responded, taking her warm hand in his.

¨Your worries show you´ll make your best not to let me regret it, Lex, ¨she smiled, holding his steely blue-grey eyes.

¨Thanks for your vote of confidence, Chloe. It means a lot to me. ¨

¨You´re deserving, Lex. Don´t let anyone make you believe the contrary. ¨

¨You should listen to your own words of advice, Chloe, ¨ he smirked.

¨I promise I´ll work on it too, ¨she beamed.

The skies, which had been overcast when Chloe had driven away from Clark and Lois´ house, were starting to clear. There were still some black clouds looming on the horizon, but the sunrays were fighting their way through. Although Chloe was aware they had an arduous battle ahead, she had faith it´d be worth it. Lex would still be the complex contradictory man she had met all those years ago, but she´d at least get the satisfaction of knowing she could make a difference in somebody´s life.

Gabe had been an extraordinary, loving father to Chloe but she had missed a mother figure growing up. Seeing Lilly so small and defenceless- abandoned by her mother just as she had been- and so dependant on a father who had always been hungry for affection, touched a cord in Chloe´s heart. The reporter hoped she could bring some light into the lives of Lex´s children too.

Chloe experienced the need to be needed for her own sake, for reasons other than her research and computer skills, and she felt this would be as much Lex´s chance to be happy as hers. He had accepted her back in his life, and she had let him enter hers again with open eyes, ready to embrace both his darkness and his light. What was still good in him was struggling to survive and Chloe promised herself she´d make sure it stood a chance. They were friends again. Only time would tell if they had ever been destined to be something more.

**THE END**

A/N: The sequel, Rebuilding, is already up and complete. Simply consult my profile to find the story on this site.


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